Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and colleagues, when the Minister and I met for the first time we were talking about the zama-zamas [illegal miners]. Today we are on a better footing, I think! Worldwide Worker's Day is always celebrated on 1 May. This year the theme for the debate in the NCOP is health and safety in the mining industry.
It is a statutory mandate of the Department of Mineral Resources, according to the Mine Health and Safety Act, Act 29 of 1996, to safeguard the health and safety of mining employees and communities affected by mining operations.
Our mineral wealth ranks the highest internationally, with estimated reserves valued at US$2,5 billion. Statistics SA indicates that the industry employs in excess of 500 000 workers. It is therefore an industry to be developed for the much-needed jobs and economic development it provides, but at the same time mineworkers must be protected, their safety guaranteed and their health and wellbeing safeguarded. Balance and perspective are required.
The Commission of Inquiry into Safety and Health in the Mining Industry, led by Judge Leon, reported in 1995 that no less than 69 000 mining-related deaths had occurred during the mining boom of the 20th century. The careless mining operations of the 20th century had also left more than one million people injured and physically disabled.
Mining in South Africa is very technical, carrying a high risk and having to go to record-breaking depths in the earth's crust to extract the mineral wealth. We can't allow the safety of mineworkers to be compromised. Although the mining companies aim to place mining safety on a par with developed countries like Canada, Australia and the United States by 2013, Dr Philip Frankel, author of the work on mine safety titled Falling Ground, questions the realisation, as well as the sustainability, of the target.
The industry is well regulated, but effective implementation is wanting. The abuse of section 54 stoppages causes production losses, as shown in the report by Royal Bafokeng Platinum, with losses of 61 600 tons on 25 April 2012, when seven section 54 notices were issued. Nineteen production shifts were affected. On 13 February 2012, Anglo American Platinum reported 81 section 54 stoppages for the year, at production losses of 109 000 ounces of platinum.
Are improved statistics on mining injuries and fatalities directly related to the interventions of the Ministry, or are they due to the commitment by mine companies? Does the Department of Mineral Resources have a sufficient number of qualified mining safety inspectors employed to service the industry to prevent unnecessary section 54 stoppages?
Minister, I am not going to repeat the fatality rates, because you have already referred to them, and our statistics compare favourably. Then, 4 500 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis were reported by mines in 2010. There is no indication of improvement during the previous reporting period. The total number of noise-induced hearing loss cases reported in 2010 was 1 200 and the number of silicosis occupational diseases was 1 700.
The Aurum Institute and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine are conducting tests on miners in South Africa for their vaccine-type medicines, known as isoniazid preventive therapy, to prevent infection. Initial results have proved promising, reducing the risk of infection, but unfortunately it appears that when you stop administering the drug, you can get TB again.
Many mineworkers carry TB, but only 10% develop the active disease. People living with HIV are up to 37 times more likely to develop TB. Miners are at high risk of silicosis and TB due to poor working and living conditions. Hon Minister, you said that South African miners suffered three times as many cases of active TB as the general population. In gold mining, up to 25% of miners have silicosis. Many affected mineworkers retire early and return to deep rural areas, with access to only very basic health care. Some 450 mineworkers are at the moment suing the local subsidiary of Anglo American in London for contracting silicosis and silicotuberculosis from exposure to dangerous levels of dust in the company's South African gold mines.
Minister, we question your policy of approving the appointment of unqualified occupational health practitioners at mines. Alexkor is a perfect example. The specifications and requirements for these positions are well regulated, but it is the implementation of regulations that is a major concern.
What are we doing to reconcile the position of these mineworkers past and present? How do we redress the dire ...