Reuters reports that the Chamber of Mines of SA (COM) said on Tuesday that a Labour Court decision overturning a government-imposed safety stoppage at an AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) mine placed limits on the power of state inspectors.  

The mining industry has long complained that government inspectors have been imposing arbitrary work stoppages over safety, costing billions of rand in lost output and putting mines and jobs on the line.  The ruling concerned a so-called Section 54 safety stoppage at AGA’s Kopanang mine last month.  The judge found that the blanket stoppage of the entire mine because of infractions in one section was disproportionate.  The COM said in a statement:  “We believe that the Labour Court has, in this case, clarified the limits on the powers of the inspectorate.”

• Read this report in full at Business Report
• Read the Chamber’s press statement at COM online
• Read too, Judge rebukes state on mine-safety stoppages, at BusinessLive

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