South Africa's mines enjoyed their based safety record for seven years in 2010, according to latest figures from the country's Chamber of Mines.

Last year, 128 people were killed in mining operations in South Africa, a reduction of 24 per cent compared with 2009's figures and the best safety improvement since 2003.

Bheki Sibiya, new chief executive officer of the Chamber of Mines, said it is imperative to keep pursuing the "noble goal" of a perfect safety record.

It is part of South Africa's commitment, made in 2003, to bring its mines into line with the international benchmark set by countries such as Australia, Canada and the US.

"We're very sad about the 128 mineworkers who lost their lives in 2010, and we're confident that the number is going to be lower in 2011," he said.

This year, the chamber will work together with unions and the government to implement an action plan which will involve the training of 40,000 health and safety representatives and union shop stewards over the next two years.

Meanwhile, punitive action is expected for mining chief executives who fail to adhere to safety regulations, MiningMx.com reports.

Wessel Badenhorst of law firm Werksmans Attorneys predicts that the industry will see a higher number of prosecutions under plans by the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) to reinforce the Mining Health and Safety Act.

"Every mine death implies a work outage and has negative consequences for shareholders," he commented, adding that South Africa's ageing mines pose an increasingly serious problems for the boards and chief executives of mining firms.

"Safe mining is profitable mining."

Last year, the DMR earmarked R145 million (£92 million) from the prosecution of chief executives who ignore safety rules, as well as hiring a legal expert to examine cases in which regulations may have been breached.

Sources:



South Africa plans high-tech mine safety training for 40,000 (11/01/11)



State gears up for mining prosecutions (11/01/11)

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