COALSAFE 2025 – the SA coal family collaborates for safety

By Sharyn Macnamara

On 8 May, the SACMA COALSAFE 2025 theme,“Sustainably delivering today, shaping tomorrow”, came to life for the coal mining industry in South Africa at Emperor’s Palace in Gauteng. Safety was top of mind and the message was that of operational efficiency and responsibility for long-term sustainability.

We must care for one another!” said Mike Teke, group CEO, Seriti Resources when he opened this year’s COALSAFE 2025 conference with a minute of silence, saluting all those coal comrades who had fallen in the line of duty in the sector. A video tribute honouring coal colleagues who had lost their lives on our mines moved the audience to a place where humanity, and not statistics, is paramount. “Your blood, sweat, tears, fears, happiness and sometimes frustrations, built this industry…. You poured your soul and spirit into mining coal that brightens the universe” – were just some of the words in a eulogy to men and women who put their lives on the line to light our world. Key to Teke’s message was that vigilance must be consistent, complacency is not an option and care is essential. (Scan the QR code or visit https://bit.ly/3Tea6hX watch the video).

The COALSAFE conference run by the South African Colliery Managers’ Association (SACMA) was born in the early 2000s as a proactive response to the challenges faced in the industry. The coal industry gathers annually to reflect honestly, collaborate and share knowledge that “speaks to one of the most important values we share as an industry – a commitment to protecting life,” said the newly appointed SACMA president, George Hattingh.

Hattingh stressed, “One incident and one life lost is one too many. Safety can no longer be addressed in isolation. It must be a part of a broader approach – to leadership, sustainability and operational excellence. While technical solutions, policies and systems are critical, true safety leadership is built on accountability…We must embed safety in the fabric of our decision making and our daily interactions. Mining executives and managers must lead by example, prioritising safety above production targets; supervisors must ensure that every shift begins with safety in mind, and that hazards are identified and mitigated before work begins, every worker at every level must take ownership of their role in safety – reporting, hazards, supporting colleagues, committing to protocols and saving lives.”

Hattingh emphasised that coal mining is not just about energy, but creates opportunities and lasting positive change, and together coal miners are making a difference to their communities and a sustainable economy. He noted that the ‘Coal for Hope’ initiative, dedicated to empowering and uplifting the communities affected by mining activities, had raised over R2- million over the past seven years. These funds have been invested in community projects. Hattingh appealed to the audience to pledge donations during the conference and by the close of COALSAFE 2025, SACMA had raised R364 280 for future projects that will support mine communities this year.

 

Inching ever closer to Zero Harm

As the event unfolded the industry’s “strict uncle”– David Msiza,chief inspector of mines, Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) – reiterated Teke’s call for vigilance and care in his keynote speech. He implored the coal sector to beware of complacency. He noted that the coal sector had experienced zero fatalities in 2025 so far, and encouraged all to focus on maintaining this in a step closer to Zero Harm across the board. Msiza reinforced his team’s support for the coal sector and its commitment to collaboration, and he said that the DMPR would continue to work hard with industry towards this achievable goal.

He encouraged leadership to work with organised labour and the Mine Health and Safety Council saying, “We’ve agreed that it’s not good enough for us to only focus on the technical measures of improving health and safety, but we must put more emphasis on the issue of culture and behaviour.”

 

New opportunities

Msiza noted that while overall mining employment had reduced, the coal sector had in fact seen an increase in employment with new collieries opening in 2024, proving that coal is still a key industry in South Africa. However, he pointed out a concern that the sector is increasingly mining through contractors, which now make up almost 50% of the workforce. “It is very important that we look at the pros and cons of this in terms of sustainability, as there are challenges involved with this trend.”

Msiza called attention to the fact that although there had been an increase in the number of women in mining from 76 to 78 000 strong, he sternly flagged a concern that many women are currently being hired on a fixed-term contract basis, noting that approximately 21% of the total female employees are contractors. The word on the ground, he explained, seems to be that this enables operations to terminate contracts when women fall pregnant, which of course raises alarm bells.

 

Coal sector wins

On a positive note, he highlighted that management of occupational diseases in mining had improved significantly over the last 10 years, “At one stage we had around 18 000 diseases reported, but in 2024 this number stood at 2 000 and this demonstrates the impact of programmes and the efforts that the sector has put into place.”

Dr Thuthula Balfour, head of Health Department: Minerals Council South Africa concurred and enthused that the entire mining industry had made great strides in reducing the number of TB cases over the years. She encouraged mines to check up on their contractors to ensure that there was adequate support and sick leave for those workers who had contracted TB and that post employment management of the illness continued as per regulation. Coal workers pneumoconiosis had also positively reduced by 11 times.

She said that the coal sector currently enjoys what is called “the healthy worker effect” (HWE) – a phenomenon observed in occupational health studies, where employed individuals tend to have lower morbidity and mortality rates compared to the general population. This is believed to be due to the fact that the coal workforce is recruited locally, versus a migrant workforce scenario with greater exposure diseases like HIV.

 

Potential threats to health and safety

Balfour raised concerns that despite a slow reduction by a factor of four times, noise induced hearing loss proved to be intractable and the measurement of noise was a major challenge in the sector currently. Looking to the future, she also warned that with climate change, operations were expected to see more incidences of heat stroke and heat exhaustion. She indicated that hydration, cooling areas and rest areas, appropriate PPE and cooling suits as well as shift working to avoid exposure during high temperature hours in the day could prove to be solutions.

Dr Tshepo Sedibe, group principal, Occupational Medicine and Wellness at the De Beers Group, in his presentation at the event, homed in on a rising concern for not only mines, but industry in general – the subject of mental illness. He pointed out that 33% of people in the world of work are battling mental health issues. There is a suicide every 40 seconds. Six out of the top 10 countries with the highest suicide rates are African countries, and South Africa is number 8 on the list. He added that 25% of South African are depressed. These stats set the scene.

Sedibe explained that mental illness affects both productivity and safety in the industry. It costs the country around R250-billion rand per annum. People battling mental health issues like depression cannot engage optimally and the sector is losing skills, as people are resigning due to mental health issues.

Sedibe pointed out that, if operations do not have a clear strategy when it comes to mental health, one that is aligned with the organisational strategic intent – when the mining cycle changes and the tide is low, survival and resilience will be more difficult. He advised that this strategy should be supported by a framework that is agile and scalable, involving training programmes, inclusion and equity. He added that neurodiverse individuals must also be enabled to thrive in an operation’s environment. He emphasised that engagement and feedback are important in managing psychological safety on site.

 

Coal family alignment

As always, the presence and active involvement of organised labour in the coal industry was tangible at COALSAFE this year with statements made by AMCU ,NUM, NUMSA, SOLIDARITY and CEPPWAWU. Solidarity called for the continuance of a just energy transition, including among other initiatives, the improvement of social security providing for job loss compensation due to the transition and the implementation of reskilling, upskilling and training programs for green jobs. CEPPWAWU emphasised that “an injury to one, is injury to all – safety is not just a procedure, but it is our lifeline and today, as partners, we need to continue to work together as a united workforce… We need to personalise safety.” Johan Broodryk, operational manger, UASA supported this stance, saying that “the men and women who break the depths of our earth to power our homes and industries deserve nothing less than a guarantee of safety and dignity as they form part of the heart of the coal mining industry. Every very worker should be empowered with the knowledge and tools to protect themselves and their colleagues through investment in advanced safety technologies such as real time monitoring systems that detect risks before they escalate, and by reducing human presence in dangerous environments.”

The alignment of all sector stakeholders in sentiments such as these was emphasised in a presentation earlier in the day when vice president of Secunda Collieries: Sasol Mining, Caroline Shirindza (MBA) said, “Today at a critical moment for the coal industry, the pressure to produce safely and efficiently is matched only by the call to operate responsibly, protect lives and prepare our operations for a rapidly evolving global energy landscape. It is tough because sustainability today means more than meeting production targets. In our context as coal miners, this means operating in a way that meets today’s safe production and economic needs without compromising the environment, our communities or the well being of our work force – it’s about balancing today’s goals with tomorrow’s responsibilities.”

She said it starts with one – accountable, visible leadership; two – it requires engaged people, “It’s important to build the right culture so that we can encourage individuals and teams to speak out as they have the right to stop work in conditions that are unsafe, and they must have the confidence and the knowledge that they will be backed up when they do so”; and three – SHE event prevention which “includes integrating and streamlining our processes, improving visibility and strengthening our risk management through standardisation and centralisation where we plan and design our operations with safety at the core, processes and systems should help our people to work safely and help us to apply data and leading indicators to identify potential hazards, analyse and mitigate the risks before they become incidents”.

 

A triumph in transformation

The coal mining family reunion was brought to a close when Dolly Skhosana, COALSAFE chair, presented the beloved Coal Industry Achiever Awards recognising outstanding performance for the year 2024. There was a moment filled with nostalgia when she reflected on the journey of her involvement in the annual conference since 2021 – the year in which the conference became a hybrid event and able to reach more miners, increasing its impact – to this year’s event where the tables and exhibition stands were fully booked, yet again. Skhosana closed this year’s event, and her last year as chair, with the introduction of the ‘Womanitjie’ award, which joined the ranks of the traditional “Manitjie” trophy, marking a win for progress in diversity.

 

“We speak about transformation, we speak about diversity, we speak about inclusion, and that is exactly what we have done as SACMA. SACMA is placing a well-deserved spotlight on women in mining, reinforcing our commitment to fostering an environment where women can lead, thrive and shape the future of the coal mining industry. Every winner represents that step forward towards progress, and I know we’re definitely making history with this one. The award winners today will be taking what we call the ‘Womanitjie’ trophy home.”

https://bit.ly/4jHBT4V

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