Safety in focus at Mining Indaba
Mine safety may top the agenda when South Africa hosts the annual Mining Indaba in Cape Town today in the aftermath of the mining disaster on Friday where close to 100 workers almost lost their lives. Job cuts, the uncertain regulatory environment and the further deterioration in commodity prices are also expected to be on the agenda... Calls for government intervention intensified following an accident on Friday. Three mineworkers were trapped underground and 87 others were rescued after a shaft at the Vantage Goldfields Lily Mine caved in near Barberton, Mpumalanga... Organised labour lashed out at mining houses for lax safety arrangements, and Zwane called for the companies to step up safety measures. [also refers to mine worker deaths at Impala Platinum, Harmony Gold]