The mooted nationwide audit of South African platinum mines will commence next month, it has been announced.

Thabo Gazi, Senior Inspection Official with the Department of Minerals and Energy, told Reuters: "We shall start at the beginning of December, and the audit will gain momentum next year in January."

The inspection was first ordered by President Thabo Mbeki in response to an accident at Harmony Gold's Elandstrand mine last month in which 3,200 workers were trapped underground for over 24 hours.

Since then, the government has proposed taking a tougher line on safety standards in the mining sector, and has vowed to temporarily suspend operations at mines where deaths occur and to press charges in cases where mine managers are deemed to have been negligent.

Mr Gazi stressed however that no prosecutions will take place until the audit is completed.

He said "This is an audit and not like the inspections we carry out when accidents have occurred.

"We need the companies to cooperate, and if you start prosecuting as you go along, people will not cooperate."

Source:

SA mine safety audit starts in December, 22/11/07
http://www.miningweekly.co.za/article.php?a_id=121910

SAfrica to launch mine safety audit in December, 22/11/07
http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=allBreakingNews&storyID=2007-11-22T143457Z_01_WEB9278_RTRIDST_0_MINING-SAFRICA-AUDIT-URGENT.XML

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