Klerksdorp Midweek, Klerksdorp - The mining industry reported a record low in fatalities in 2024. Mines Minister Gwede Mantashe describes it as registering “significant strides”. Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources data published last week showed there were 42 fatalities last year compared to 55 in 2023, a 24% reduction.
Last year’s numbers showed an absence of “disaster type accidents” which means five or more miners were killed in a single incident.
In 2023, 13 miners lost their lives when a conveyance broke at Impala Platinum’s Rustenburg Mines. “However, all accidents are undesirable and regrettable,” the DMR said.
The Minerals Council said the 42 fatalities last year demonstrated a promising trend in safety standards. In 2022, the industry reported 49 fatalities, which was then a record low, before the regression in the following year.
For 2024, there was a significant decline in fatalities from fall of ground incidents, known as FOG, as well as machinery and shaft conveyance types of accidents. FOG fell 13% to 13 last year. The machinery category of accidents fell 67% to two events in 2024.
By sector, the most fatalities were in the platinum group metals sector where 19 were reported, a year-on-year reduction of 14% on the 22 recorded in 2023. The gold and coal sectors followed next with 11 and six fatalities or reductions of 45% (2023: 20) and 14% (2023: seven) respectively.
