South Africa recently celebrated its safest year on record in mining, with a government report revealing a decrease in accident-related deaths from 74 to 49 compared to the previous year.
I’m addition, the report disclosed a reduction in serious injuries from 2 123 to 1 946 in 2022, prompting Minerals Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe to emphasize the need for further safety improvements.
Mantashe highlighted the continually high numbers while acknowledging the progress made in lowering fatalities and injuries.
‘’We are improving in fatalities. We are improving in injuries, but the numbers remain high,’’ said Mantashe during the report's unveiling in Pretoria earlier this year.
While the number of fatalities was declining, the high number of injuries continued to be a major worry for all parties involved in the mining industry.
At the Eastern Cape Mining Indaba, Dr Miranda Moloto, Head of Rehabilitation at Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA), stressed the importance of a targeted and pro-active rehabilitation programme.
‘’At RMA, we recently launched and are currently piloting a rehabilitation programme targeted at injured mine workers. This programme aims to restore dignity and reintegrate injured mine workers back into society,’’ said Moloto.
She said their programme is based on scientific expertise that they have amassed over the past 129 years as an insurance organisation providing Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases (COID) services to the mining industry. The COID Act's revision tackles a number of concerns, with a particular emphasis on the three pillars of rehabilitation: rehabilitation, reintegration, and return to work.
Moloto stressed that the three recovery pillars listed in the Act serve as the foundation of their programme.
She said their pilot programme adopts a holistic approach to the recuperation process, assuring sustainable results that support the injured worker's return to work and social integration.
Moloto pointed out that noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) continues to be the leading occupational disease that RMA compensates for and that is difficult to rehabilitate.
Miners with NIHL tend to have reduced opportunity of ever returning to jobs/work.
The leading occupational health injury after NIHL includes amputation of the upper and lower limb, spinal cord injuries, and partial/complete vision loss. ''These injuries remain the most substantial threat to workers in the mining sector,'' she said.
Moloto concluded her presentation at the Mining Indaba by emphasizing the primary objective of their efforts: restoring dignity to injured workers.
‘’We aim to see the injured worker back at work, enjoying the dignity of being able to sustain his or her life. Whether they were a sports enthusiast or not, we want them to be able to enjoy their interests, participate in sports, and have the mental strength to overcome challenges and succeed. Rehab and reintegration is more than just building a ramp for the wheelchair; it is about ensuring independent living and increasing the chances of employability of the injured worker,’’ said Moloto.