The Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate, which was established in terms of the Mine Health and Safety Act of 1996, is responsible for safeguarding the health and safety of people working at mines or affected by mining activities.

The activities of the inspectorate are geared to achieving the following strategic objectives:

• reducing occupational injuries and ill-health;
• developing and maintaining an effective policy and legislative framework;
• improving information management; and
• supporting cross-cutting initiatives of government relating to economic empowerment, human resource development, employment equity, poverty alleviation and combating the HIV/Aids pandemic.

The Chief Inspector of Mines heads the tripartite structures established by the Act, namely the Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC) and the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA), which is also a Sector and Education Training Authority (SETA).

In the case of the MQA, the Chief Inspector is the chair of the board. Representatives of government, employee and employer organisations serve on tripartite structures. The MHSC advises the Minister of Minerals and Energy on safety and health issues and promotes a health and safety culture in the mining sector, while the MQA is responsible for addressing the education and training needs of the mining sector.

Occupational health and safety performance

The mining industry's safety performance improved in 2005 calendar year. In 2005, a fatality rate of 0.56 deaths per thousand employees was recorded compared to a fatality rate of 0.65 deaths per thousand employees in 2003.

Efforts to quantify and prevent occupational diseases are still progressing at a slow pace. Poor reporting and collection remains a serious concern and this limits analysis and interpretation of line data. However, the annual occupational health reports received from a number of mines and the available data gives a better picture of the situation than previously available through the South African Mining Occupational Disease Database (SAMODD) alone. It is also apparent that the industry's efforts to address noise and hearing loss at source have started in earnest.

At the Mine Health and Safety Summit held in 2003, employers, labour and government agreed to work towards achieving national health and safety milestones. The milestones set out below, necessitate steady improvement in occupational health and safety over the next decade (ending December 2013). Reaching zero fatalities and injuries is the ultimate goal.

National health and safety milestones

At the 2003 Mine Health and Safety Summit, the following milestones were agreed on:

Milestones for safety performance:

• In the Gold Sector: achieve safety performance levels equivalent to current international benchmarks for underground metalliferous mines, at the least, by 2013.
• In the Platinum, Coal and Other Sectors: achieve constant and continuous improvement equivalent to current international benchmarks, at the least, by 2013.

Milestones for elimination of silicosis:

• By December 2008, 95% of all exposure measurement results will be below the occupational exposure limit for respirable crystalline silica of 0.1mg/m3 (these results are individual readings and not average results).
• After December 2013, using present diagnostic techniques, no new cases of silicosis will occur among previously unexposed individuals. Previously unexposed individuals are individuals unexposed prior to 208, that is, equivalent to a new person entering the industry in 2008.

Milestones for elimination of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss: The present noise exposure limit stated in the MHSA regulations is no more than 85dBL.

• After December 2008, the hearing conservation programme implemented by the industry must ensure that there is no deterioration in hearing greater than 10% amongst occupationally exposed individuals.
• By December 2013, the total noise emitted by all equipment installed in any workplace must not exceed a sound pressure level of 110 dB(A) at any location in that workplace (including individual pieces of equipment).