MINE DEATHS
Unions raise concern over increase in mining fatalities
The Chamber of Mines records 76 deaths in mine-related accidents between January and October 2017
The number of fatalities in SA’s mining industry has increased for the first time in 10 years. The Chamber of Mines has recorded the deaths of 76 mine workers who were killed in mine-related accidents between January and October 2017. The figure is already three higher than 2016’s of 73 deaths. The numbers do not include the assumed deaths of Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi and Solomon Nyerende who were trapped inside a container after the collapse of ground at Lily Mine in Mpumalanga in 2015. Mining trade unions have called on government to prosecute mining bosses over the deaths and for a commission of inquiry to be instituted to investigate the overall safety of the country’s mines. The Department of Mineral Resources said that it too was concerned about the spate of mine accidents. The Chamber of Mines has described as "regressive" the increase in mining fatalities following improvements over the past decade. However, more worrying for the body that represents the country’s mining...
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