The DMR hits back on safety stoppages

The Department of Minerals and Resources (DMR) has hit back at the mining industry over the issue of Section 54 work stoppages following a report by the Chamber of Mines of South Africa (CoM) that these cost the industry R4.84bn in lost revenue during 2015.

In a statement issued today the DMR accused “some responsible corporate citizenry of South Africa’s mining industry” of “appalling behavior” because they were seemingly filing “appeals in the court of public opinion.”

The statement noted that, “in recent months, certain mining companies have leveled very serious allegations against the Minister (of Mineral Resources) and his officials……..a particular instrument of contention is section 54 of the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA). These allegations have the potential to tarnish the integrity of Government and undermine the legislative instruments.”

The DMR statement added, ” there are provisions for recourse built into the MHSA where a party who’s been issued with section 54 notices and believes them issued without grounds to challenge the said issuing. To date, the Minister of Mineral Resources has not received any formal appeals, as prescribed for in legislation.”

Section 54s enable the DMR to close shafts and entire mines in the event of a safety breach most seriously when there is a mine fatality. The notion behind the section is for remedial action to be undertaken to avoid a repeat.

Common complaint voiced by several affecting mining companies is that the DMR is applying section 54 notices far too broadly shutting down entire mines where management believed only the shaft where the accident took place should be closed.

Mining companies have also highlighted radical differences in application of Section 54s between the different provincial mining regions by the respective DMR departments.

The CoM would like to see the safety legislation applied differently with a section closed rather than the whole mine in order to narrow the impact. The MHSA allows for this in Section 55.

“In most cases the issuing of s55’s – in the first instance – will resolve the safety issue, without harming production or the viability of the mining operation,” the CoM report said.

While the SA mining sector has made considerable progress in improving safety standards and reducing fatalities – from 615 workers killed in 1993 to 63 deaths last year – the DMR statement makes it clear it does not consider this performance good enough.

According to today’s statement, ” health and safety in the mining sector under the democratic government is non-negotiable. Whilst a mine owner would attempt to clarify the statistics by comparison with previous years, possibly to show a decline and/or improvement in such statistics, the harsh reality is this – these are human lives……every one lost is lost to a family that grieves them.

“Whilst creating regulatory framework that aides in driving growth in the mining sector remains a key objective of the department, it cannot and will not be at the expense of the people of this country.  Society can ill-afford to compromise human lives in the interest of commercial gains.”