Pretoria - Government, platinum mining companies operating in the North West and NUMSA have agreed that companies will review their mining methods.
The mining companies have also agreed to report to the Department of Mineral Resources on what measures they would implement to improve safety.
This follows a meeting between the department, the mining companies and NUMSA on Monday as part of continuing engagements to ensuring that safety in mining is improved and adherence to mining safety regulations.
According to the department, mine safety is of serious concern to workers, their families and society at large. It is for this reason that government has passed health and safety legislation in order to prevent ill health, injuries and deaths at mines.
However, recent accidents in platinum mines are eroding the hard-earned gains which have been made over time and all indications are that these accidents are preventable.
Chief Inspector of Mines, Thabo Gazi, said government was determined to ensure that safety measures in South Africa's mines were improved. "We will not compromise on achieving that objective," he said.
"Following the recent spate of accidents in the platinum sector, we have had constructive discussions with companies and we will continue to engage with both business and labour on how we can improve on safety.
"These measures are aimed at saving lives and no amount of posturing by individual companies will sway us," he said, urging mining companies to cooperate with government's efforts to prevent injuries and fatalities.
Last week, Chief Executive Officers from the mining sector met with Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu and agreed that they will work towards ensuring that lives are saved.
They also agreed on putting training and skills development first.
