Question NW3178 to the Minister of Mineral Resources
11 September 2015 - NW3178
Esterhuizen, Mr JA to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources
With regard to his department’s new regulations that call upon surface mines to enhance safety for all trackless mobile machinery apart from reducing mining accidents how (a) effective will the specified regulations be and (b) will it reduce (i) capital expenditure and (ii) the cost of maintenance?
Reply:
The trackless mobile machinery accidents are also the major contributor of fatalities, disabilities and injuries in the mining sector. In this regard, the Department has been implementing measures including reviewing the relevant legal provisions to protect the health and safety of the mineworkers.
The new regulations require the employer to ensure that pedestrians are prevented from being injured as a result of a collision between the trackless mobile machines or vehicles and persons, where there is a significant risk of such a collision.
(a) These regulations are expected to be effective and should result in decreased fatalities and injuries. The department will monitor the situation continuously.
(b) (i) and (ii)
Yes, it is envisaged that the prevention of accidents as a result of compliance to the regulations will ultimately reduce capital expenditure and cost of maintenance because there will be far less production interruptions and less money spent to repair vehicles that have collided. However the loss of life is of utmost importance and cannot be equated to costs or profit at the mine.