Palabora disaster prompts Govt to bring safety summit forward

Gwede Mantashe, mines and energy minister, South Africa

A MINE safety summit convened for November by South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has been moved forward to September following the death of six miners at Palabora Copper Mine at the weekend, said EWN, an online publication.

Citing mines minister, Gwede Mantashe, the summit will discuss individual reports into certain disasters including the event that triggered the summit itself: the death of six miners at the premises of Sibanye-Stillwater’s West Rand gold mines.

Mantashe said that “… that summit will use specific report on disasters and unique accidents on the industry as case studies.” The investigation into the accident at Sibanye-Stillwater has been completed but the report is yet to be released, he said. An investigation into the accident at Palabora Copper will be completed in a month’s time.

South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, weighed into the safety debate this week saying that regulations would be tightened.

It’s unknown if this means he envisages changes to the Mine Health and Safety Act, or that implementation of guidelines in the act which allows for people responsible for accidents to be penalised in their personal capacities would be more strictly enforced.