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Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Hon Polite Kambamura has appealed to miners to stop going underground during the rainy season to avoid mine collapses.
The rainy season is usually associated with an increase in fatalities within the mining sector with some mines collapsing due to lack of proper supporting structures.
During the rainy season, the ground will be weak and most likely to collapse.
Speaking at the National Assembly on Wednesday, Minister Kambamura said, “l would like to take this opportunity to alert our miners that it is now rainy season and they should mine safely.
“If the ground is wet, they should not go underground. We have witnessed many accidents in the recent past and we would not want to continue witnessing such.”
The latest State of Mining Industry Survey Report for 2024 released by the Chamber of Mines recently shows that the mining industry reported 110 fatal accidents during the period January to July 2023, compared to 106 fatal accidents during the same period last year.
“Of the 20 accidents reported for large-scale mines, 80 percent were underground operations. Illegal mining operations contributed 22 percent to the total number of accidents,” read the report.
“The small-scale mining industry contributed 60 percent to the total number of fatal accidents.”
Cases of accidents in the small-scale mining sector have been on the rise, resulting in the loss of human lives due to the sub-standard equipment, which makes it difficult to observe and adhere to standard safety practices.
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