WITH an economy that was built on diamond and gold mining, SA still accounts for a significant proportion of the world’s production and reserves of mineral resources. However, it is also one of the most dangerous working environments in the world, with many risks to its workforce.It is, therefore, essential to ensure that every person who enters a South African mine undergoes a compulsory test for alcohol and is randomly tested for drug consumption. The alternative is an unacceptably high rate of accidents and fatalities.The health risks in most professions are obvious, but couple the health risks in a mining environment with abuse of substances and one begins to see how all that glisters is not gold. The prevalence of risky drinking in the South African workforce in general has been estimated at 25% in studies conducted by the South African Health and Safety Regulation Forum. This cannot be allowed to extend to the mining sector.The typical environment of a mine is already dangerou...
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