Mining Focus Africa

Top Menu

  • Subscribe
  • Minerals
  • Projects
  • Machinery
  • Video’s
  • Advertise
  • Magazine
  • Directory

Main Menu

  • Home
  • International News
  • Local News
  • Events
  • Business
  • Energy
  • Technology
  • Contact Us
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login
  • Subscribe
  • Minerals
  • Projects
  • Machinery
  • Video’s
  • Advertise
  • Magazine
  • Directory

logo

Header Banner

Mining Focus Africa

  • Home
  • International News
  • Local News
  • Events
  • Business
  • Energy
  • Technology
  • Contact Us
  • SRK’s decade in DRC evolves to local ownership

  • BIA Group to supply Furukawa & RTDrill brands across Central and West Africa for Euroforgroup

  • Mozambique the next frontier in graphite production

  • BASE Resources passes important resource milestones in Kenya

  • Cable, components and critical space exploration

  • Africa’s edge in the green mineral economy

  • Keeping the faith in EA public participation processes during Covid-19

  • Ivanplats seeks $420m financing to develop South Africa’s Platreef mine

  • Transforming the Logistics Operations of the African Mining Industry

  • Mining Indaba insights: Mines push on as South Africa plays catch-up

Business
Home›Business›Mining industry well prepared to tackle Covid-19 with new, existing protocols

Mining industry well prepared to tackle Covid-19 with new, existing protocols

By Micheal van Wyk
June 1, 2020
113
0
Share:

The South African mining industry is, generally, well prepared to deal with the return to work of a large percentage of staff as lockdown Alert Levels move from Level 4 to Level 3 on June 1, reports Minerals Council South Africa.

The council noted in its second weekly Covid-19 update briefing on May 29 that, historically, it has sound medical quarantining, screening, testing and treating infrastructure which has been used to combat tuberculosis (TB), and HIV and Aids, which have been legacy, prevalent issues within the industry.

Head of health Thuthula Balfour, points out that, for example, in tackling TB in the industry, council members’ operations had medical facilities available to screen, test and contact-trace suspected cases with great success.

These measures have helped miners in their ability to screen 100% of their respective workforces, every day of work.

Through these efforts to combat TB, she points out that, over time, the mining industry has been able to reduce thetotal number of TB cases to lower than that of the entire national case count.

“Through the experience we have in managing TB, HIV and Aids we have managed to develop great infrastructure to manage diseases like Covid-19,” she stresses.

In 2019, more than 90% of miners were tested, on a voluntary basis, for TB.

This results in a robust framework that can be adapted and used to test miners for Covid-19, going forward, the council states.

In terms of personal protective equipment (PPE), Anglo American external communications manager Sibusiso Tshabala notes that the mining industry has, incidentally, good practises in place to prevent the spread of diseases in the working environment as it is mandatory for, especially underground, workers to wear various items of PPE, including gloves, masks and goggles or safety glasses.

In any case, the mining industry has also introduced a number of sanitisation measures to enhance its hygiene practises, including sanitising hands, both before miners go underground, as well as once they reach operating levels underground. There are also many instances of miner’s having installed disinfectant spray booths to disinfect personnel when they enter mine sites.

SETTING THE BENCHMARK

Minerals Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter says Covid-19 is a “black swan event”, having no precedents or benchmarks on which to base responses.

He notes, however, that mining was one of the first industries in South Africa to recognise the disruptive impact that Covid-19 might have, even before it began to spread rampantly in the country.

“In February Minerals Council South Africa sent out, in four different languages, guidelines to [council] members on how to manage pandemics like Covid-19.”

In addition, Baxter highlights that the council has also consistently done a lot of work around a set of control measures based on risk, prevention and mitigation, thereby formulating a set of standard operating procedures, which will be sent to members to help guide them in their fight against Covid-19.

“These were undertaken in a 10-point plan in March, and [were expanded upon in] a much more detailed set of standard operating procedures for the industry during the course of April.”

Effectively, he says, these standard operating procedures were adopted by all parties and are reflected in the directives issued by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.

Meanwhile, he also warns that a significant increase in the number of infections of Covid-19 in the domestic mining industry is inevitable, in line with increases that will happen in other industries. However, he also notes that not all these cases will be a direct result of miners returning to work, but will also include cases originating from within communities.

“As we increase testing, the reality is that South Africa will experience a significant increase in the number of infections,” says Baxter.

He nonetheless assures that the mining industry’s Covid-19 screening and testing systems are well entrenched and although not 100% “perfect” are providing satisfactory results, which will improve as national testing capacity is also ramped up.

Baxter also points out that the council convenes a fortnightly zero harm leadership team meeting where different mining companies discuss their measures for addressing the Covid-19 pandemic, thereby sharing lessons and successes.

Previous Article

Merafe subsidiary buys stake in Glencore’s Unicorn ...

Next Article

Tanzania Finally Allows Export of Mineral Concentrates

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0

Micheal van Wyk

Related articles More from author

  • Business

    Jubilee nearly doubles rights to copper tailings in Zambia

    November 6, 2020
    By Micheal van Wyk
  • BusinessLocal News

    Mponeng sale a milestone in SA mining

    December 24, 2020
    By Micheal van Wyk
  • Business

    The future of mining in South Africa

    March 6, 2015
    By Micheal van Wyk
  • BusinessEnergy

    South Africa’s Eskom seeks $221 million damages over coal deal

    August 5, 2020
    By Micheal van Wyk
  • BusinessInternational News

    BASE Resources passes important resource milestones in Kenya

    February 22, 2021
    By Micheal van Wyk
  • Business

    Top 10 copper mining companies in 2016

    July 16, 2017
    By Micheal van Wyk

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You may be interested in

  • Business

    Zimbabwe: Gold revenue up 48 percent

  • Technology

    Using the power of technology to transform and reimagine mining in South Africa

  • International News

    De Beers launch Chinese course manual

Watch

  • EnergyVideo's

    South Africa reveals recovery plan for mining and energy sector

    Government has tabled a recovery plan to restore business confidence, stimulate investments, safeguard and create jobs in the mining and energy sector. “The Mining and Energy Recovery Plan intends to ...
  • Video's

    The draft petroleum Bill, skills development and how SA can benefit from Mozambique’s LNG project

    Adrian Strydom, acting CEO at South African Oil and Gas Association chats to African Oil Week on the draft Upstream Petroleum Resource Development Bill, Integrated Resource Plan, skill development for ...
  • Video's

    Steel production likely to stagnate or decline this year, says Roskill

    https://cisp.cachefly.net/assets/articles/attachments/82191_2020-05-05_roskill.mp4
  • Video's

    South Africa’s economy dire in comparison to rest of Africa

      Dr Azar Jammine, Director and Chief Economist at Econometrix, highlights the economic disparity between South Africa, West Africa and East Africa and how this could be an opportunity for ...
  • EventsVideo's

    Good Chemistry at Mining Indaba

    Under the umbrella of the new AECI Mining pillar, AECI Mining Explosives (AEL Intelligent Blasting) and AECI Mining Chemicals (Senmin), will offer solutions that focus on the customer and their ...

Timeline

  • February 24, 2021

    SRK’s decade in DRC evolves to local ownership

  • February 24, 2021

    BIA Group to supply Furukawa & RTDrill brands across Central and West Africa for Euroforgroup

  • February 23, 2021

    Mozambique the next frontier in graphite production

  • February 22, 2021

    BASE Resources passes important resource milestones in Kenya

  • February 19, 2021

    Cable, components and critical space exploration

Find us on Facebook

About Us

Mining Focus Africa provides valuable information on minerals’, events, exploration, energy and mining developments throughout Africa. It reports on the continent’s renaissance in mining and market opportunities associated with it.

Published 4 times a year, Mining Focus Africa is also available as a value-adding Digital online platform including weekly newsletter, online subscription and quarterly E-magazine downloads.

  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • SRK’s decade in DRC evolves to local ownership

    By Micheal van Wyk
    February 24, 2021
  • BIA Group to supply Furukawa & RTDrill brands across Central and West Africa for Euroforgroup

    By Micheal van Wyk
    February 24, 2021
  • Mozambique the next frontier in graphite production

    By Micheal van Wyk
    February 23, 2021
  • BASE Resources passes important resource milestones in Kenya

    By Micheal van Wyk
    February 22, 2021
  • The way that minerals are mined affects conflict in eastern Congo

    By Micheal van Wyk
    July 30, 2019
  • Miners welcome stance against ‘blatant corruption’ in South Africa

    By Micheal van Wyk
    August 31, 2020
  • Wafi-Golpu a ‘game-changer’ for growing South Africa miner

    By Micheal van Wyk
    December 7, 2020
  • East Africa mining boom spells doom for environment

    By Micheal van Wyk
    December 4, 2020
  • JAQLEE CONSTRUCTION COMMENCING
    on
    February 1, 2021

    Mota-Engil picks up mining contract at Vedanta’s Gamsberg mine

    Good Day. Would like ...
  • www.xmc.pl
    on
    January 31, 2021

    Shock resignation of AngloGold Ashanti CEO after less than two years

    Spot on with this ...
  • Edison Forbes
    on
    January 6, 2021

    Contact Us

    I think this is ...
  • หนังโป๊
    on
    January 4, 2021

    Miners welcome stance against ‘blatant corruption’ in South Africa

    Excellent article. I certainly ...

Contact Us

Head Office
5 The Ferns, 364 Pretoria Avenue, Randburg, South Africa, 2194

Tell : +27 67 212 7565
Fax: 086 678 6956
www.lothbrokmedia.com

Accounts
Info@lothbrokmedia.com

Zambia
33 Malata Road, Madras,Lusaka, Zambia 3928Tell:+ 26 76 136 3654
Email Info
Info@miningfocusafrica.com

 

  • Contact
  • Adverts
© Copyright www.miningfocusafrica.com. All rights reserved.
Please wait...

Subscribe to our newsletter

Want to be notified when our article is published? Enter your email address and name below to be the first to know.
SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTER NOW