"Concern over high fatality rate of SA mineworkers", 6 Nov 2017

At least 76 mineworkers have been killed and 2 156 sustained serious injuries since the beginning of the year, says the Chamber of Mines of South Africa. The death toll and injuries include two miners who were killed and six who sustained injuries as a result of a rockfall following a seismic event at AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng Mine in Carletonville last Thursday...According to the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), 2016/17 Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate’s report, the industry employed 433 980 mineworkers in 2016, and recorded 73 fatalities and 2 846 injuries as compared to 77 fatalities and 3 139 serious injuries in 2015. The report states that classification of fatalities during 2016 was as a result of fall of ground, transportation and mining, as well as general accidents at 33%, 32% and 22% respectively...NUM [National Union of Minewokers] national spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said: “We are worried about the fatalities of mineworkers, because they do not seem to stop. We are concerned that more than 70 mineworkers have died since the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, they have left behind orphans and widows without a breadwinner at home.”