Pretoria - Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu has warned that government will not tolerate inferior safety measures and will act firmly against mining companies who put the lives of mineworkers at risk.
The minister on Wednesday called on the mining industry to ensure that new technologies were developed and used to improve safety standards. "It is also crucial that safety standards are complied with to reduce fatalities and injuries," she said.
Minister Shabangu was speaking in Rustenberg, North West, at a memorial service for five employees of Aquarius Platinum who tragically died in a mine accident last week.
"Profits must be balanced with the interests of workers and I want to make it clear that those who cannot mine safely must not mine at all.
"I want to appeal to both management and workers to ensure that safety standards are improved and that everyone complies," Shabangu told thousands of workers and mine managers who attended the service.
She said the tripartite Mine Health and Safety Council would have to work together to resolve health and safety challenges in the mining industry without making money an obstacle to finding solutions.
"I want organized labour, business and government, as represented at the Mine Health and Safety Council, to revisit health and safety standards and I urge all parties to cooperate," Shabangu said.
The minister also implored mine health and safety inspectors to fast-track the finalisation of investigations and inquiries.
She said she would be holding a meeting with the CEOs of platinum mining companies to discuss mine health and safety issues. However, she said shareholders would also have to take responsibility.
"It is not enough to call the CEOs of these companies. The shareholders, those who benefit from the profits, must also account for what is happening at their mines," she said.
The minister also spent time greeting and comforting the families of the deceased.
