
Minister Gwede Mantashe will reveal the Mine Health and Safety statistics for the 2024 calendar year on Thursday, January 23, 2025, according to a statement released by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources on Wednesday.
The Department said that this follows the 2024 Mine Occupational Health and Safety Tripartite Summit which aimed to achieve “Zero harm in our lifetime. “The Minister will be releasing the statistics and performance of the mining industry in terms of fatalities, injuries, and occupational diseases.”
The Department added that they are prioritizing the health and safety of mine workers. “The Department remains committed to ensuring the health and safety of mineworkers by enforcing the Mine Health and Safety Act and fostering cooperation with all stakeholders for the long-term sustainability of the sector.”
The Deputy Minister, Director-General, Chief Inspector of Mines, Organized Business, Organized Labor, and Professional Associations will join the Minister, the Department further stated.
According to a Tuesday Business Report, mining productivity in South Africa fell by 0.9% year-over-year in November 2024 after a downwardly revised 1.1% increase in October, according to data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
According to Stats SA, the biggest causes of this fall were coal, which decreased by 1.6%, iron ore, which fell by 3.8%, and gold, which sank by 11.5%.
After month-over-month declines of 2.8% and 4.2% in October and September 2024, respectively, SA’s mineral productivity fell by 0.2% in November 2024 on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The African Mining Indaba is expected to take place in February.