Infographic: Mining - occupational diseases, injuries & fatalities

The Department of Mineral Resources presented its 2016 Annual Performance Plan to the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources on Tuesday, 3 May 2016. As a prelude to its Mine Health and Safety programme plan, they provided an overview of the prevalence of occupational diseases, fatality rates and injury rates. The most common occupational diseases in the mining industry include tuberculosis (TB), silicosis and noise-induced hearing loss.

The presentation showed the following:

  • Occupational diseases in both platinum (-52%) and gold (-46%) decreased significantly since 2004

  • However, the prevalence of occupational diseases in coal mines increased by 44% from 2004 to 2014

  • Pathology reports by the National Institute of Occupational Health showed TB steadily decreasing as a cause of death in miners since 2010

  • North West recorded the highest number of mine fatalities (35 in 2013), followed by Gauteng (30 in 2014)

  • SA had the 2nd highest (0.09) mining fatality rate in 2014 compared to Canada (1st), USA (3rd) and Australia (4th)

For more information on mining occupational diseases, injuries and fatalities, see infographic below:

disease

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