SA grapples with mine safety after mishap

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s lucrative mine sector is under a spotlight in the wake of an accident that trapped thousands at a gold mine, with analysts saying more than a government audit of all mines was needed to improve safety.

President Thabo Mbeki called for the audit in a bid to crack down on older and potentially more dangerous mines as companies in the world’s biggest producer of gold and platinum dig deeper underground to cash in on a commodity price boom. The order was issued after rescue workers last week saved all 3 200 miners who were stuck some 2,2 km below the surface for more than 24 hours at Harmony Gold’s Elandsrand mine.The company is the world’s fifth biggest gold producer.The government intervention in the mining sector – about 200 workers are killed annually in South African mines – came after unions called on authorities to do something to improve safety in the pits and shafts.A Johannesburg-based gold analyst, however, said state-led inspections of mines were unlikely to be successful because the government lacked enough skilled staff to carry out such probes.”That is a pipe-dream,” the analyst who asked not to be identified said.”The government doesn’t have the manpower to do this thing (audit).It is a nice gesture, but not much will come of it.”The current law does not have prescribed minimum safety standards for mines, he added.Other analysts said lack of regular maintenance and inadequate technology to detect the earth tremors that have buried many workers in rockfalls have contributed to the number and severity of mining accidents in the country.Steps by individual companies to put safety ahead of production was the long-term solution to mine deaths, they said.Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica offered a mea culpa on behalf of the government on Friday, telling a mines safety summit that her department was suffering from a shortage of skilled staff to conduct regular inspections.”Our inspections have tended to be reactionary rather than pro-active,” Sonjica said, adding it was not yet clear who would conduct the audit ordered by Mbeki, although private sector experts might be used.Changing the law to introduce a minimum safety standard for mining companies was another key step that could prevent accidents and deaths, she said.Analysts said South African companies would be under pressure to follow in the foosteps of mining sectors overseas, some of which have far better safety records.The labour-intensive nature of South African mines compared to operations in Canada or Australia, which are highly mechanised, also meant there was a higher incidence of deaths.CHANGE OF CULTURE “When you visit some overseas mines, the culture of safety is different.The one thing they keep on about is safety.They ram this down your throat during the visit, and you can see it’s a big thing among their workers.Our culture needs to change,” David Hall, a Macquarie First South Securities analyst, said.”Cynthia Caroll (the chief executive of Anglo American is trying to push some of that safety culture here as we have seen on the platinum side.Is there more that companies can do on safety? I would say yes,” Hall added.Caroll has taken a tough stance on safety since taking over the global miner.Analysts said safety issues were an important factor in the resignation last month of Ralph Havenstein, chief executive of Anglo unit Anglo Platinum (Angloplat).Angloplat, the world’s biggest platinum producer, suspended output at its largest operation, Rustenburg, for about seven days in June due to safety concerns after five workers were killed in an accident.The shutdown was expected to cut 2007 refined platinum production by 10 000-15 000 ounces.At AngloGold, Anglo launched a renewed safety campaign this year after mining deaths at its mines jumped to 37 in 2006 from 25 the previous year.So far, 23 AngloGold mineworkers have died this year, including four miners who died in a rockfall late last month at its Mponeng gold mine – the deepest in the world.AngloGold Chief Executive Mark Cutifani, who took over in October after the retirement of Bobby Godsell, has said one reason he was recruited was due to his strong record in improving safety in previous posts.COMMODITY PRICE BOOM Apart from loss of lives, mine accidents also are costing companies dearly through shutdowns.Harmony said in a presentation last week that ore output rose in the three months to the end of September, but the accident at Elandsrand mine – one of the firm’s biggest, producing 51 666 ounces of gold in the quarter to end-June – is likely to curb that trend.Experts said the boom in global commodity prices and the dwindling output of gold in South Africa had led companies to build extensions to existing mines in which they rely on older infrastructure.Workers say that jeopardises safety.The Elandsrand mine is around three decades old and was purchased by Harmony in 2001 from AngloGold Ashanti, which had planned to close it down.Harmony is currently extending the mine by digging deeper to add 18 more years to the life of the mine in a project to be completed by 2010.Sonjica said she suspected that lack of maintenance was behind the accident at Elandsrand, which she ordered shut for six weeks to allow for a month-long probe due to start yesterday.Harmony dismissed allegations of negligence, describing the accident as a wake-up call for the company and the country.Nampa-ReutersThe order was issued after rescue workers last week saved all 3 200 miners who were stuck some 2,2 km below the surface for more than 24 hours at Harmony Gold’s Elandsrand mine.The company is the world’s fifth biggest gold producer.The government intervention in the mining sector – about 200 workers are killed annually in South African mines – came after unions called on authorities to do something to improve safety in the pits and shafts.A Johannesburg-based gold analyst, however, said state-led inspections of mines were unlikely to be successful because the government lacked enough skilled staff to carry out such probes.”That is a pipe-dream,” the analyst who asked not to be identified said.”The government doesn’t have the manpower to do this thing (audit).It is a nice gesture, but not much will come of it.”The current law does not have prescribed minimum safety standards for mines, he added.Other analysts said lack of regular maintenance and inadequate technology to detect the earth tremors that have buried many workers in rockfalls have contributed to the number and severity of mining accidents in the country.Steps by individual companies to put safety ahead of production was the long-term solution to mine deaths, they said.Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica offered a mea culpa on behalf of the government on Friday, telling a mines safety summit that her department was suffering from a shortage of skilled staff to conduct regular inspections.”Our inspections have tended to be reactionary rather than pro-active,” Sonjica said, adding it was not yet clear who would conduct the audit ordered by Mbeki, although private sector experts might be used.Changing the law to introduce a minimum safety standard for mining companies was another key step that could prevent accidents and deaths, she said.Analysts said South African companies would be under pressure to follow in the foosteps of mining sectors overseas, some of which have far better safety records.The labour-intensive nature of South African mines compared to operations in Canada or Australia, which are highly mechanised, also meant there was a higher incidence of deaths.CHANGE OF CULTURE “When you visit some overseas mines, the culture of safety is different.The one thing they keep on about is safety.They ram this down your throat during the visit, and you can see it’s a big thing among their workers.Our culture needs to change,” David Hall, a Macquarie First South Securities analyst, said.”Cynthia Caroll (the chief executive of Anglo American is trying to push some of that safety culture here as we have seen on the platinum side.Is there more that companies can do on safety? I would say yes,” Hall added.Caroll has taken a tough stance on safety since taking over the global miner.Analysts said safety issues were an important factor in the resignation last month of Ralph Havenstein, chief executive of Anglo unit Anglo Platinum (Angloplat).Angloplat, the world’s biggest platinum producer, suspended output at its largest operation, Rustenburg, for about seven days in June due to safety concerns after five workers were killed in an accident.The shutdown was expected to cut 2007 refined platinum production by 10 000-15 000 ounces.At AngloGold, Anglo launched a renewed safety campaign this year after mining deaths at its mines jumped to 37 in 2006 from 25 the previous year.So far, 23 AngloGold mineworkers have died this year, including four miners who died in a rockfall late last month at its Mponeng gold mine – the deepest in the world.AngloGold Chief Executive Mark Cutifani, who took over in October after the retirement of Bobby Godsell, has said one reason he was recruited was due to his strong record in improving safety in previous posts.COMMODITY PRICE BOOM Apart from loss of lives, mine accidents also are costing companies dearly through shutdowns.Harmony said in a presentation last week that ore output rose in the three months to the end of September, but the accident at Elandsrand mine – one of the firm’s biggest, producing 51 666 ounces of gold in the quarter to end-June – is likely to curb that trend.Experts said the boom in global commodity prices and the dwindling output of gold in South Africa had led companies to build extensions to existing mines in which they rely on older infrastructure.Workers say that jeopardises safety.The Elandsrand mine is around three decades old and was purchased by Harmony in 2001 from AngloGold Ashanti, which had planned to close it down.Harmony is currently extending the mine by digging deeper to add 18 more years to the life of the mine in a project to be completed by 2010.Sonjica said she suspected that lack of maintenance was behind the accident at Elandsrand, which she ordered shut for six weeks to allow for a month-long probe due to start yesterday.Harmony dismissed allegations of negligence, describing the accident as a wake-up call for the company and the country.Nampa-Reuters