ANA reports that the acting chief inspector of mines is compiling a report on all accidents that have occurred at Sibanye-Stillwater mining operations since the beginning of this year.
Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Sunday: ""To date, Sibanye-Stillwater operations are responsible for 20 of the 45 fatalities reported since the beginning of the year. It therefore cannot be business as usual in how the regulator attends to this situation." Mantashe added that the matter was receiving the urgent and serious attention it deserved. On an incident reported to the ministry concerning the Mpumalanga regional office, Mantashe said it appeared that an official allegedly issued notices under the Mine Health and Safety Act and then demanded financial compensation in return for their lifting. The official in question had been suspended pending the conclusion of the investigation. Mantashe also reported that the administrative operations of the Limpopo office had been suspended with immediate effect after an incident in which staff were threatened and a bullet was sent to the regional manager inside an envelope. All administrative-related matters would be handled from the head office in Pretoria.
- Read this report in full at eNCA
- Read too, Miners ‘dying to breathe’ in latest Sibanye’s fatal incident, at City Press
- And also, Sibanye-Stillwater CEO appalled by mine tragedies, at The Citizen
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