CAPE TOWN (miningweekly.com) – The Minerals Council South Africa will renew its focus on key safety interventions, particularly on eliminating falls-of-ground (FoG) incidents, which have increased in the past year despite 2025’s record low number of fatalities. 

The Minerals Council noted in a briefing on day-two of the Investing in African Mining Indaba that there was a worrying 25% regression in fatalities related to FoG, which increased to 15 deaths in 2025 from 12 the year before.

In 2022, a CEO-approved FoG action plan contributed to FoG fatalities being lowered to six. Now the Minerals Council will work with its members to understand why there has been a setback.

In the 2016 to 2020 five-year period, the number of FoG fatalities fell by 78% to an average of 24 a year from an average of 111 a year in 2001 to 2005.

The key interventions were the implementation of entry examinations and actively making working areas safe daily since 2009.

In 2012, netting and bolting of tunnel roofs and walls were introduced and the use of steel nets has become a common feature in South Africa’s deep-level mines.

The mining industry closed year 2025 on 41 known fatalities, an all-time low and one fatality fewer than the 42 in 2024.

While pointing out that this was the second successive year of the lowest number of mining sector fatalities, Minerals Council CEO Zero Harm Forum chairperson Japie Fullard made a strong point of acknowledging that 41 families had lost their loved ones, as had friends and colleagues, and extended the industry’s heartfelt condolences to them.

“As mining CEOs, we believe that zero harm is possible. If you consider the significant reduction in fatalities, injuries and illnesses in the sector over the past three decades you will understand why we hold this belief,” Fullard added.

In the coal industry, for example, there were eight months up to end August 2025 without a fatality.

Indications that safety interventions and programmes are delivering the outcomes the sector expects to see as it strives for Zero Harm is that the number of 2025 fatalities in 2025 is marginally down on 2024 fatalities and there has also been a 12% reduction in serious injuries to 1 693 from 1 925.

The mining industry has reduced fatalities in three decades by 91% to 41 in 2025 from 484 in 1994. Serious injuries have fallen by 80% to 1 693 from 8 347 in that period, with specific sector focus on leading causes of fatalities such as FoG as well as transportation and mining contributing to the reduction. Increased attention at CEO level to lead safety and health initiatives and the sector’s adoption of leading practices have contributed positively.

"The Minerals Council’s most important partnership is with the Mines Inspectorate in the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) and organised labour as we strive to achieve Zero Harm at South Africa’s mines. This is the partnership most highly valued by the Minerals Council because of the significant interventions the sector has made in fatalities, injuries, and occupational diseases to return all employees home in safely after every shift.

"At the Minerals Council, member CEOs meet on the first working day of each month to share their learnings about safety incidents, the root causes and the actions they have implemented to ensure these incidents are not repeated again.

“It’s only through sharing like this that we grow our knowledge base and not repeat the mistakes that have hurt or killed our colleagues. It is a very powerful platform and I’m encouraged by the seriousness with which these sessions are treated and the level of engagement we have. I have no doubt this a major contributor towards the advances we are making in health and safety in our sector,” says Fullard.

In the past 15 years, tuberculosis and silicosis cases have reduced by more than 80%, with the incidence of TB cases falling to 220 per 100 000 employees, which is half the national average for South Africa. Cases of noise-induced hearing loss in mining have reduced by 55% in the past 15 years and this is now coming under particular focus.

The total number of occupational diseases reported by the mines decreased by 7.6% from 1 864 in 2023 to 1 723 in 2024, according to data from the DMPR. The mining sector employs about 470 000 people to put that number into context.

During 2026, the Minerals Council’s focus will be on sustaining and strengthening the downward trajectory in health and safety incidents through deeper embedding of critical control management, broader adoption of leading practices, enhanced learning and knowledge sharing, stronger visible-felt leadership, and continued industry collaboration through both the Minerals Council structures and the tripartite Mine Health and Safety Council.