Rapport writes that up to March this year, five mineworkers had died in the country’s mines against 14 in the corresponding period last year.  

This represented a 69% annual improvement, the Department of Mineral Resources reported in its 2018 statistics on occupational health and safety in the mining industry.  In 2018, the number of mineworkers who were killed in mining-related incidents decreased by 10% on an annual basis to 81 deaths.  In 2016, the industry experienced its lowest number of fatalities, namely 73, but in 2017 the number shot up to 90.  Most of the fatalities in 2018 were again in the gold sector (40), followed by platinum (12) and coal (9).  In 2018, there were 12% less injuries in the industry (from 2,669 in 2017 to 2,350 in 2018).  According to the department, the incidence of cases of occupational diseases between 2016 and 2017 (the latest available figures) fell by 3% from 4,632 cases to 4,483.  Cases of noise-induced deafness increased from 966 to 1,14 and more silicosis cases were also reported in 2017 – 652 against 635 in 2016.  Tuberculosis cases decreased from 2,580 in 2016 to 2,247 in 2017.

• The original of this report is at Netwerk24 (paywall access only)

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