SA mine deaths fall 23% in 2008

Production and Markets

South African mine deaths fell 23% to 168 in 2008, compared with 221 in 2007, the Solidarity union said on Tuesday.

South Africa, which has the world's deepest mines, has one of the highest rates of work-related mining deaths in the industrialised world.

Shoddy maintenance and poor technology to detect tremors are partly to blame, but human error -- by executives, supervisers or miners -- is the main cause of the fatalities in the world's number one platinum producer and top gold exporter.

"If the lower death toll this year could be repeated in the next few years, South African mines would be able to compete with North American and Australian mines by 2013 when it comes to safety," Solidarity spokesman Jaco Kleynhans said.

South Africa's parliament passed new mine safety laws last month which enforced stricter penalties and made mine executives criminally liable for deaths.

Industry players, represented by the Chamber of Mines, have criticised the new laws as being too punitive, saying they would drive away managers to other parts of the world where regulations are less stringent.

The high mine death toll has prompted government to routinely halt mine operations temporarily after fatal accidents, further reducing output in an industry already suffering from the effects of South Africa's ongoing power shortage and the global financial crisis.

Mine unions, which have called for higher penalties for companies, asked workers at mines where there had been fatalities to boycott work for a day of mourning -- for which they should be paid in full, adding to costs.