• COUNTRY IN FOCUS
production levels, based on exemptions under the provisions of
Annexure B to the Disaster Management Regulations, measures
that have been implemented to fight COVID-19, such as social
distancing, could have been implemented, without significant
challenges. However, once the lockdown was lifted and the
situation normalised, a key question is whether these mines
can continue to implement the basic measures including social
distancing, appropriate hand sanitizers, and sanitizing of high
volume personal protective equipment such as cap lamps, and
self-contained self-rescuers. Mines also rely on the ability to get
large numbers of workers underground, to the working areas, as
quickly as possible by means of the high-volume conveyances.
With the ever-increasing depth of many South African mines, and
the distance of working faces from the shafts, getting mine workers
to the faces, quickly, can mean the difference between a viable and
a non-viable mine.
Ensuring health and safety
Under South Africa’s Health and Safety Laws, and in particular,
the Mine Health and Safety Act, No. 29 of 1996 (MHSA) which
applies to South Africa’s mines, the holder of the right to mine
is required to take reasonably practicable steps to ensure the
health and safety of employees and other persons who may be
directly affected by the mining operations. The responsibility
includes providing a workplace which is without risk to the
health or safety or employees. Mining companies are also
required to provide adequate personal protective equipment to
protect the health and safety of employees.
Once things normalise it is going to take a huge effort from all
mining stakeholders, including the mining companies, employees,
trade unions, service providers, and government, to ensure that
mining operations can continue, safely and in such a way that
the health of employees, including potential exposure to further
outbreaks of COVID-19, is prevented. The return of large numbers
of employees who, as a matter of necessity, work in close proximity
to one another, will be a significant challenge, and the various
measures that have been identified to prevent the contraction and
spread of COVID-19 (or for that matter, any other viruses), will still
need to be rigorously implemented and complied with.
metals, the reduced transportation by road, rail and river, and in
certain cases, the seizure of mining operations, altogether. These
countries will, like South Africa, face significant challenges when
situations normalise.
Whether in South Africa or in any African country, it is going
to be a long, hard road to recovery, with the immediate focus
being on survival. It is unlikely that many of the expansion
projects which were contemplated prior to Covid-19 will be
implemented, in the short- to medium-term, and the focus is
likely to be on maintaining the integrity and readiness of current
operations, so that operations can be ramped up to meet
increased global demand as and when that occurs.
The relatively busy mergers and acquisition activities and other
corporate activities that were contemplated or beginning, at
the start of Covid-19, are also likely to be reviewed, cautiously,
and it is likely that this activity will slow down, significantly, in
the coming months. Investor focus is likely to follow a cashpreservation
and a ‘wait and see’ approach.
Unfortunately there are also likely to be other consequences,
including litigation arising out of the issuing of force majeure
notifications, as a result of Covid-19 and the lockdown, both
domestically and internationally, particularly where bilateral
treaties are involved (such as global marketing agreements).
Covid-19 and the lockdown has also exposed the fragility of
various business models and structures, and the leadership
teams, in many businesses. The ‘blame game’ may also start,
and the resilience that South Africans are known for, is going
to be tested even further. South Africans are resilient, and like
everything, Covid-19 will pass, and it is more important to focus
on how, as South Africans we can survive and ultimately thrive.
It seems that South Africa has had some advantages in its
fight against COVID-19, including its compulsory vaccination
programmes and, particularly in the mining and natural
resources sector, the sector’s fight against Tuberculosis and the
successful management of Tuberculosis, one of the primary
occupational diseases that compromise the immune system.
South Africa’s mining and natural resources sector has also
implemented comprehensive management programmes
regarding HIV and AIDS, and these programmes may, certainly
in respect of mine workers, place mine workers in a better
position to prevent the contraction of Covid-19 and manage the
threat of Covid-19, including its spread, in workplaces.
The mining sector in other African countries will be faced with the
same challenges, and there is one challenge which is common to
many African jurisdictions, including South Africa – illegal mining.
In this unregulated sub-sector, there is no control, and programmes
that are implemented for the protection of health and safety of
employees are, understandably, not rolled out, to include illegal
miners. The illegal mining community, which is often driven by
socio-economic need, remains at risk, not only to themselves, but
also the broader community with which they come in contact.
It seems that mining in many African jurisdictions have not been
hard hit by COVID-19 and there can be various reasons for this,
including the reduced global demand for, in particular, precious
24 • African Mining •May 2020
Leon Louw
Small scale mines and quarries are key players in any developing country’s
economy, and the government should pay more attention to their needs.
www. africanmining.co.za