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ICMM releases 2016 mining safety report

28 April 2017

Today, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) released its annual safety data report on its 23 member companies.
 
The report, which collates the safety data of nearly 900,000 people, recorded 63 fatalities in 2016.
 
Six member companies recorded no fatalities for the year and there was a decrease in the number of incidents resulting in fatalities. However, there was in increase in the total number of fatalities from 60 in 2015.
 
There was a decrease in the number of recordable injuries, from 10,494 to 8,445.
 
All of the data is set against a lower number of hours worked in 2016, which fell by 11 per cent over the previous year. In order to accurately measure the frequency of fatalities and injuries, the report measures their occurrence per million hours worked.
 
The fatality rate for 2016 was 0.032 in 2016, an increase over the 2015 figure of 0.027, while the rate of injuries was reduced from 4.70 to 4.26 injuries per million hours worked.
 
Tom Butler, ICMM’s chief executive said: “ICMM and its members are committed to reduce mining fatalities to zero. Tragically, there were three more fatalities last year than in 2015, notwithstanding fewer hours worked overall.
 
“Member companies are not complacent and are at the forefront of improving safety, but there is still much more work to be done. ICMM will continue to collect and analyse safety data so we can learn and understand how to make mining safer.”
 
The report findings include:

  • Three additional fatalities recorded in 2016 compared to 2015
  • A decrease in the number of fatal incidents
  • Six member companies recorded no fatalities in 2016
  • Nearly half of fatalities (31) were due to fall of ground in underground mines (18) and transportation/mobile equipment (15)
  • In 2016, there were 2,049 fewer recordable injuries
  • A 9.36% reduction in recorded injuries per million hours worked

 
The report also examines incidents by country and found that 24 of the 63 fatalities occurred in South Africa, seven in Chile and seven in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The report concludes that the mining industry must continue its collaborative efforts to eliminate all fatalities and that ICMM’s work on critical control management is a key strategy to reach this goal.

Taking a collective approach allows members to make greater progress than if they tackled the issue individually. ICMM’s member companies have worked together to develop good practice guidance on critical control management which is being adopted widely across the industry.

The management of critical controls is founded on the principle that not all controls are crucial. Companies should therefore focus on systematically identifying, assessing, implementing and evaluating those controls that are essential to the prevention of fatal or catastrophic events.
 
ICMM’s member companies are continuing to embed critical control management into their day-to-day operations. While the fatality and injury rates serve as backward-looking indicators, critical control management potentially offers leading indicators on the health and safety status of an organisation. This means being able to monitor real-time performance and respond accordingly.
 
- Ends -
 
Notes to editors
 
The report is available at http://www.icmm.com/safety-data-2016.
 
For more information please contact:
Mike Eames
Media relations specialist
Email: Mike.Eames@icmm.com
Mobile: +44 (0) 7881 316 724

 
Table 1: ICMM safety performance data (2012-2016)
 

Year

Total Recordable
Fatalities

Fatality Frequency
Rate

TRI (total recordable injuries)

TRI frequency rate

Total hours worked

2016

63

0.032

8,445

4.26

1,981,148,588

2015

60

0.027

10,494

4.70

2,231,437,832

2014

56

0.024

10,455

4.50

2,324,525,784

2013

91

0.035

11,636

4.52

2,571,500,557

2012

90

0.033

13,895

5.07

2,738,579,590

  
About the International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM)
ICMM is an international organisation dedicated to improving the safety, social and environmental performance of the mining and metals industry.
 
Bringing together 23 mining and metals companies that employ nearly 900,000 people worldwide and 34 regional and commodity associations, we serve as an agent for change: identifying common challenges and establishing a safer and more sustainable industry.