How negligence led to deaths at Sibanye

The deaths of two workers at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Beatrix gold mine in October 2020 were due to the negligence of a “shift boss” who ignored safety warnings.

It has come to light that the fatalities could have been prevented had operations supervisor Alice Makhetha followed the group’s safety protocols.

As the shift boss Makhetha was tasked with ensuring safety protocols and job regulations were adhered to consistently, with a particular emphasis on upholding the “cardinal rules of safety” for underground drilling and blasting operations.

According to Sibanye’s policies, Makhetha was obliged to issue a written “stop and fix instruction”, which effectively results in a work stoppage until safety issues are resolved.

Two years before the deadly incident, Sibanye Gold’s head of mining had told employees that no contravention of the cardinal safety rules would be tolerated by the company.

Evidence suggests that four days before the incident, a relieving mine overseer visited shaft 4 at Beatrix mine, where Makhetha was in charge of conducting an inspection. The overseer discovered a safety hazard at the panel that was to be drilled and blasted, as the support for the panel was below standard.

This finding was communicated to Makhetha in writing. Even though it was evident that the panel conditions were unsafe, she failed to issue a stop and fix instruction. Instead, she instructed the crew to support the face of the panel and to proceed with drilling and blasting.

A day before the incident, Makhetha was again warned by the night supervisor that the panel lacked proper support and measures were needed before any drilling and blasting could take place.

On the morning of the incident, Makhetha instructed a miner — who was one of two who died later in the day — to examine the panel before the drilling and blasting as she would be attending a meeting with her supervisors.

At about 10.30am, tragedy struck when the work crew working on the unsafe panel continued drilling and blasting the panel, leading to a collapse that claimed the lives of two miners and left another severely injured.

An investigation by Sibanye pointed the finger at Makhetha, who was then charged and faced a disciplinary hearing. The hearing found her guilty of having failed to implement all the safety measures required by the company.

Dismissal

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) later set aside the disciplinary hearing’s findings, finding Makhetha’s dismissal was unfair.

Sibanye last week successfully petitioned the labour court to set aside the CCMA’s award.

“I am satisfied that the evidence, considered as a whole, showed that Makhetha indeed committed the misconduct as contemplated by the charge against her, she had been found guilty of,” the court found.

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“She failed to ensure that safety instructions given to her were carried out, and failed to ensure that the substandard safety conditions were rectified before work continued on the panel. She should have issued a stop instruction, which would have ensured that the safety concerns would be remedied, before any work on the panel could even start.”

Beatrix is a mature, shallow to intermediate level gold mining and processing operation located in the Free State goldfields of the Witwatersrand Basin, near Welkom.

Makhetha’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.

khumalok@businesslive.co.za