Two miners were killed at the African Rainbow Minerals and Anglo American Platinum joint venture Modikwa Platinum underground operation, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said Saturday (January 28th).

The union says it is concerned at the number of deaths in South Africa's mining industry and called for "drastic action" to address the problem and "compel" the industry to improve safety.

"We call on the state to hold the industry fully accountable for its failures and adopt a no-nonsense approach when it comes to mine deaths," NUM spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said.

He also called on the government to carry out a technical audit of mining infrastructure and equipment.

"The NUM strongly believes that drastic action is needed to compel the mining industry to comply with safety standards and procedures," Mr Seshoka added.

The latest fatalities bring the total number of workers killed in mining accidents to over ten.

In 2011, more than 120 mine workers died, though this is well below the fatality rate 25 years ago.

Platinum mining companies have recently attributed an increased number of Section 54 safety stoppages to falling production.

Lonmin indicated that further closures could risk it missing its full-year production targets, while Anglo American Platinum has also expressed concern at the number of safety inspections.

Announcing its first quarter results last week, Lonmin said it lost 177,000 ts production to safety stoppages.

David Msiza, the chief inspector of mines, told Reuters that mining firms are keen to promote safety, but worried at the amount of lost production when the government steps in with a Section 54 notice.

"The industry is really not disputing the Section 54s. They are really disputing the number of days lost," he explained.

A team will look at how stoppages are implemented by the government to try to minimise the impact on production in future, Mr Msiza added.

Sources:

NUM calls for technical audit as two more miners die (30/01/12)

Two miners die at Modikwa Platinum-union (28/01/12)

S.African task team to advise on mine closures (27/01/12)

Q1 2012 Production Report & Interim Management Statement (26/01/12)

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