ANA reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Thursday urged the government to hold the mining industry accountable for its safety failures, after a worker died at Modikwa Platinum Mine in Limpopo due to a fall of ground.  

NUM North East regional secretary Phillip Mankge said in a statement:  "One death is too many and we call on the department of mineral resources to start implementing the Mine Health and Safety Act to its fullest.  We appeal to the lawmakers to propose a long sentencing and heavy penalty to any mine that kills a person."  Mankge went on to indicate that drastic action was needed to compel the mining industry to comply with safety standards and procedures.  He also said that the state needed to undertake a technical audit into the mining industry, looking at ageing and ailing infrastructure that continued to fail hundreds of miners and left thousands of people orphaned.

• The original of this short report is at Mining Weekly

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