malvernmugadzikwa
Comfort Mhaka
SIXTY-NINE people were killed in 66 mine accidents during the first three months of this year, with the authorities attributing most of the incidents to disregard of regulations, resulting in the collapse of mines.
Government statistics show that there were 182 mine accident fatalities last year, up from 139 the previous year.
Most of the accidents, which were recorded at mines in Mashonaland West and Midlands provinces, were a result of poor enforcement and disregard of mining regulations.
Ministry of Mines and Mining Development chief mining engineer Michael Munodawafa said: “These fatalities were a result of inadequate enforcement of mining regulations due to the increase in the number of mining locations and inadequate resources given to the mines inspectorate, pure disregard of mining regulations by registered and unregistered (illegal) miners and lack of proper mining knowledge and understanding of the mining environment.”
He said there has been no “significant decrease” in the number of mine accidents so far this year.
“Falls of ground account for 60 percent of all mine accidents.
“The reason this is the highest contributor is theft of support pillars in old or current mines, working in unstable ground (especially backfilled areas) without any extra support and failure to leave natural support pillars . . .”
Shaft accidents, he added, account for about 18 percent of all incidents and are prevalent at small mines.
“Some of the causes are poor maintenance of winding mechanisms, which normally result in either rope snapping or winding mechanism failures due to poor or no maintenance. The other accidents that occur in shafts are a result of loose materials falling from the sides of the shafts,” he said.
Gassing accidents, which occur as a result of poor ventilation, account for about 10 percent of fatalities recorded in the industry.
This year, 22 people have been killed in falling ground incidents, while six died as result of poor ventilation in mines.
Nine were killed in shaft accidents
“We are conducting SHE (safety, health and environment) campaigns across the country by visiting mines, carrying out inspections and showing the miners areas that require attention in accident prevention; encouraging proper use of adequate PPE (personal protective equipment); compliance with all mining regulations; giving technical advice; and encouraging the miners to engage experienced and trained personnel to lead in their mining activities,” said Eng Munodawafa.
Close to 75 000 workers died while one million people were injured in mining accidents globally last year.
Online Reporter