• AFRICAN BUZZ
ZERO HARM IS POSSIBLE
By the Minerals Council South Africa
The South African mining industry can make a significant step change in its overall safety performance when it eliminates fatal falls of ground , a persistent problem in the country ’ s underground mines that has accounted for about a third of annual fatalities .
By far the biggest allocation of the yearly budget within the Minerals Council South Africa goes towards modernisation , safety , and safety-related work on behalf of its 79 members . This work complements the initiatives within companies to drive zero harm at their operations .
Zero harm is possible . Consider companies like Assmang , owned by African Rainbow Minerals and Assore , recording a remarkable 13 years and 10-million shifts without a fatality at its Black Rock Mining Operations where production was expanded in a massive investment during that period . Exxaro has recorded five years and four months without a fatality at its coal mines . It can be done .
For deep-level , hard-rock mines in gold and platinum group metals there is some way still to go and it will need a combination of people , processes , and technology . Underlying these three equally important points is the unequivocally critical need for companies to share their learnings , their experiences of what works and what doesn ’ t . There is no space for egos or companies jealously hoarding successful safety projects , interventions , or strategies . One death is one death too many . Nobody must go to work with the hope in the back of their mind that they will not be hurt or killed doing their job , stressing about their family ’ s future , and their colleagues ’ safety . It ’ s mentally debilitating .
The industry has made progress towards eliminating FOG fatalities . It has reduced FOG fatalities by 78 % since the early 2000s , cutting the annual average of 111 deaths due to rock bursts and gravityinduced falls of ground to an average of 20 in recent years . These fatalities make up about a third of annual deaths and the industry is pushing to eliminate them entirely , another major step towards making South Africa ’ s mines safe .
Remarkably , in the first quarter of 2022 , one person was killed in a FOG event . This is the lowest number in many years and if the industry manages to replicate or lower this number in the remaining three quarters of the year , it will be the best performance and it will feed into a major drop in overall fatalities . Seeing a performance like this enforces the belief in the industry that zero harm is a reality .
The decline is driven by the introduction of new technologies and support systems for hanging walls . Netting is without a doubt a
4 • African Mining • June 2022 life saver , with mines sharing their experiences of lives saved with netting installed right up to the stope . The nets catch large falling rocks and prevent deaths or severe injuries from gravity-induced rock falls and rock bursts . Another intervention is the installation of bright lighting in stopes and access tunnels , allowing employees to study the rock face , identify potential problems , and to work safely in what used to be dark places lit only by headlamps .
Anglo American is working on a radar system that can be deployed underground to detect any changes in the work environment and trigger an alarm for employees to evacuate the area before there ’ s a problem . Open cast mines using radar systems to monitor sidewalls have not had a fatality in pit wall failures . If this can be replicated underground , giving miners the added sense of security that they could be warned in advance of a rockfall , it will be a massive game changer .
It ties into what Glencore Ferroalloy CEO Japie Fullard says . A silver bullet for preventing FOG is that miners are not victimised or worried that they ’ ll be penalised for withdrawing from unsafe working areas .
In a study commissioned by the Minerals Council recently , barring the practice of a miner using a long crowbar to prise loose rocks from hanging walls or side wall , is identified as a major risk . This is an area of work coming under intense scrutiny .
Without question , the mining industry has made enormous strides in addressing FOG fatalities and injuries . Rock bursts are no longer the source of fatalities they once were . While the industry has plateaued at an average of 20 fatalities a year from FOG incidents stemming largely from gravity-induced falls of ground , the Minerals Council and its members are actively addressing this issue .
BARRICK PLANS FURTHER INVESTMENTS IN DRC ON BACK OF KIBALI SUCCESS
Africa ’ s largest gold mine , Kibali , has made a strong start to 2022 and is on track to equal its 2021 production this year , and Barrick looks to continue investment in the DRC .
Kibali powers ahead Last year Kibali again replaced the reserves depleted by mining and its prolific KZ trend of orebodies continues to deliver opportunities for significant open pit and underground growth .
On 24 March 2022 , Barrick president and chief executive , Mark Bristow , said Kibali had notched up a number of other key deliverables during the quarter . These included the signing of a cahier de charge with the surrounding communities to formalise their role in identifying and overseeing the mine ’ s investment in social development projects .
Another section of the Durba road to Watsa had been completed and the resettlement of the Kalimva-Ikamva and Pamao villages had started with the first group of people moving into their new homes . www . africanmining . co . za