Mine rubbishes union safety claims

Patricia Edwin | Thursday September 25, 2014 17:42

“Until investigations are complete we will not know exactly what happened, or where the rock came from,” said TNMC public relations manager Tebogo Rapitsenyane.

“That is not true. There is nothing like that and there are no rocks above the bench,” he said.

He further said that they have experts in Geo Tech who look at the safety of the mine adding that their safety department is active in ensuring that the mine is safe.  “All procedures of safety are followed.  On Tuesdays we have what we call Go-Around Safety walks to ensure that the mine is safe”.

On Saturday a 27-year-old man Warona Khutsafalo, who was a Drilling Rig Assistant, died after he was hit by a falling rock. The deceased who hails from Mogapinyana was an employee of Moolman Aveng, a company sub-contracted to mine at Tati Nickel mine. Three days later, on Tuesday, BMWU secretary general Bob Malele said that he and other members of BMWU went to inspect the scene of the accident and resolved that the place was not safe for workers, as there were rocks hanging loose.

However, Rapitsenyana denies any rocks that present a risk to workers; “If there were any hanging rocks we would have long seen them and they would have been dealt with, and if there are any dangerous areas they are sealed and steps are taken to correct the situation.”

He went on to say that as a mine they are governed under the Mines, Quarries and Machineries Act, which ensures that they are operating according to the law.

He also said that the Department of Mines has in the past conducted random inspections on the mine.

“They visit regularly to see if we are adhering to safety standards,” he said.

At the time of going to press, the union indicated that they were writing a letter demanding to have the mine shut down until safety measures have been taken. The union also suspects foul play saying that the mine is not safe and that they were not notified of the death of their colleague until after they had made inquiries.

Malele said that they were going to write a letter to the Director of Mines and the management of the mine about the dangers under which their membership are working.

“We want to insist in the letter that even after the enquiry, that mine should not be opened until the safety measures have been taken care of,” he said.