The 2018 death toll in South Africa’s mines fell slightly, to 81 fatalities from 90 in the previous year, the Mineral Resources Ministry said on Friday.
Many of South Africa’s mines have seen investment slow in recent years partly due to their poor safety record, worsening already difficult market conditions amid depressed prices and soaring labour, power and operational costs.
In 2017 the industry ended nine straight years of falling fatalities in the world’s deepest mines although the number of deaths remains on the upper end of the global average.
The gold sector recorded the highest number of deaths at 40. The platinum sector saw deaths decrease to 12 from 29 in 2018.
The mines ministry said a third of the fatalities were from rock fall incidents and seismic events.
Injuries also decreased in the period, by 12 percent to 2,350 from 2,669.
“We will be reporting an improvement but we’re still concerned that people are losing their lives,” chief inspector of mines at the Department of Mineral Resources David Msiza said at a press briefing.