The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has lamented the tragic start to this year, which has already seen three mineworkers dying in various incidents.
The first two fatalities were at Harmony Gold, with the first on January 11, when a locomotive driver died in a mud rush incident.
A second fatality followed two days later, when an employee was found underground at Harmony’s Phakisa mine.
A third mineworker died at precious metals miner Sibanye-Stillwater’s Bambanani shaft at the miner’s Kroondal platinum group metals operations, near Rustenburg. A rock drill operator died in a fall-of-ground incident.
According to the trade union, “these fatalities show a lack of commitment by senior management towards improving safety at these mines”.
AMCU further called for government’s intervention, and urged that “employers be held accountable by a Mine Health and Safety Act with teeth and a government which works to protect people . . . ”