Safety Performance: Benchmarking Progress of ICMM Company Members in 2022

As ICMM members, companies are required to report their safety data in their annual sustainability reports in line with Global Reporting Indicators (GRI) requirements. Comparing these data sets can be challenging due to differences in reporting criteria. In some cases, because of differences in jurisdictional or institutional reporting requirements, reporting periods or criteria by which injuries are recorded, datasets may not be directly comparable.

By collating ICMM company member data using a consistent reporting period (calendar based versus various financial years) and unifying it under a common set of indicators, we can present it in a coherent way.

This safety data continues to play an important role in informing leadership decisions and health and safety strategy. Ongoing analysis of incidents and their associated root causes will continue to inform innovative and impactful approaches to improving safety performance across the industry.

ICMM has compiled and published members’ safety performance data using Fatality and Total Recordable Injury (TRI) numbers and frequency rates as primary measures. However, we continue to develop alternative metrics which will provide a greater insight into health and safety performance.

In 2021, ICMM’s guidance was updated to provide greater clarity on how companies determine if an incident is ‘recordable’. If there are any deviations from the ICMM guidance, then these are explained in the footnotes.

2022 Safety Data

This section provides an overview of ICMM member safety performance in relation to fatalities and injuries.

Fatalities

Thity-three (33) fatalities occurred across ICMM’s 26 company members in 2022. This number compares to 451 in 2021 and 44 in 2020. Overall, in 2022, the total hours worked increased by 5.7 per cent compared to 2021, whilst there was a 26 per cent decrease in the number of incidents that resulted in a fatality. The Fatality Frequency Rate (FFR) has therefore reduced from 0.017 to 0.012 for the same period.

Graph 1 and Table 1 present the detailed data of fatalities and fatality rate from 2012 to 2022.

Data shows that there were two incidents that resulted in more than one fatality, which is less than in all previous years. Moreover, 50 per cent (13 of 26) member companies were fatality free in 2022; the highest percentage since 2019.

Table 1: ICMM Safety Performance Data (2012 – 2022)[3]

The data in Graph 2 shows the most common type of incidents causing a fatality. This helps to identify focus areas for fatality prevention efforts. In 2022, the highest number of fatalities (9) occurred through ‘mobile equipment’ incidents. This is less than the 12 mobile equipment related fatalities recorded in 2021, but higher than those recorded in 2020 and 2019. Of these 9 fatalities, 55 per cent occurred underground.

The hazard posed by vehicles in the industry transcends geographical boundaries and is not dependent on the specific commodity being produced. Through the collaborative Innovation for Cleaner Safer Vehicles (ICSV) initiative, ICMM members are working in partnership with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and technology suppliers to identify and promote effective solutions that can eliminate fatalities resulting from vehicle interactions.

The next highest cause of fatalities (5) is ‘falling objects’. This is the highest number of falling object-related fatalities since 2017. Falling object fatalities should be preventable by removing hazards from the work area, or with effective controls being designed and implemented consistently, such as engineering controls.

For example, in recent years, the Minerals Council South Africa (MCSA) has focused on reducing fatalities by facilitating the adoption of leading practices in underground operations such as the revised netting and bolting practices to minimise risk for individuals working under unsupported rock. Additionally, efforts have been made to reduce the damage to rock mass because of poor drilling and blasting. Enhancing visibility in underground operations has also been a key focus area with added benefits.

In addition to mobile equipment being the greatest cause of fatalities, it is also the most geographically spread, across five countries (Chile, USA, The Philippines, South Africa and Canada — see Graph 4).

Graph 5 shows the number of fatalities by hazard between 2017 and 2022. The year-on-year comparison (excluding the very high number of deaths in 2019 due to the Brumadinho tailings dam collapse shown under the structural failure category) shows a variable pattern of fatalities due to a range of hazards.

Targeting action towards specific hazards based on annual data is a reactive approach and ICMM
chooses to focus on a more general programme of action to target foundational components of a robust safety culture that could be more effective at reducing fatalities.

ICMM has been working with members to share the importance of critical controls and develop approaches to improve critical controls to reduce fatalities, and it will remain a core focus of our work going forward. ICMM’s Health and Safety Critical Control Management: Good Practice Guide and Critical Control Management: Implementation Guide

are freely available for use on our website. Collective efforts around safety culture and other critical controls could help to accelerate performance improvements, and ICMM is assessing opportunities for this going forward.

Table 2 shows the fatalities by continent.

Table 2: ICMM Fatalities per Continent (2022)

The data in Graph 6, based on Table 2, shows the number of fatalities by continent for 2022. 42 per cent (14) of the 33 fatalities occurred in Africa and 27 per cent (9) in South America. However, the number of hours worked is significantly different across the continents.

The data in Graph 7 shows that the country with the highest number of fatalities in 2022 was South Africa (7) followed by Brazil (4) and remaining countries with either one or two fatalities. South Africa saw a significant decline in fatalities compared with 2021 (22), particularly relating to fall of ground incidents.

In terms of FFR, Mozambique and Niger recorded the highest values, 0.378 and 0.365 respectively, attributed to 2 fatalities in each country. Total hours worked in Mozambique and Niger each represents only 0.20 per cent of all hours recorded by country. Table 3 shows the FFR for all countries where a fatality was recorded and allows for easier comparison.

Table 3: ICMM Fatalities per Country (2022)

Graph 8 shows the related critical control issues for all fatalities in 2022. As can be seen, issues around critical control design and critical control execution account for 88 per cent of fatalities. 70 per cent of control failures are due to ineffective execution of controls within the operating environment, similar to 2021.

Injuries

Graph 9 shows the injury rate for companies between 2012 and 2022. There was a 3.2 per cent decrease in the number of total recordable injuries from 7,355 in 2021 to 7,126 in 2022. The overall injury rate (total recordable injuries per million hours worked) decreased from 2.90 in 2021 to 2.66 in 2022. The overall injury rate has consistently decreased every year since 2015.

2022 Company Benchmark

Graph 10 shows total FFR and TRIFR for each member company in 2022. The graph shows that there is no consistent correlation between FFR and TRIFR across company data.

The total number of fatalities, recordable injuries and frequency rates per company are shown in Table 4.

Table 4: ICMM Company Member Data for Fatalities and Recordable Incidents (2022)[5]

Thirteen (13) ICMM members recorded no fatalities during 2022, which was 50 per cent of our membership.

Notably, 5 out of the 13 companies that recorded no fatalities had above average (and in some cases considerably higher than average) TRIFRs. Understanding how the TRIFR indicators influence behaviour in an organisation is critical. By adopting a high standard of operating and reporting of injuries, a company is emphasising the importance of proactive risk management to its employees that builds on a positive safety culture for early intervention, adequate risk mitigation and employee engagement. These factor into developing, implementing and maintaining a safety culture capable of eliminating fatalities.

Notes

1. ICMM originally reported 43 fatalities in 2021. This data has been updated as safety incidents at Sibanye Stillwater and Anglo American during 2021 led to one fatality at each company during 2022. The fatalities were assigned to the year of the incident.

2. The total of 287 in 2019 includes the 250 workers who died in the Brumadinho tailings dam collapse.

3. Data was not collected prior to 2012 and is therefore not included in the graphs and tables in this report. Companies that joined ICMM after 2012 are represented in the dataset from the first full calendar year that they were members.

4. Rates are per 1 million hours worked (calculated by dividing the total number of fatalities or TRIs by total hours worked, and then multiplying by 1 million). Fatality rate is shown to three decimal places, injury rate shown to two decimal places.

5. While all effort is made to ensure the data complies with the definitions, it should be noted that some minor differences still exist between companies. Acknowledging this, we are continuously looking at ways to improve the consistency of data.

6. All African Rainbow Minerals operations are managed in Joint Ventures. This data does not include non-managed coal operations.

7. Boliden – Total Recordable Injuries (TRI) include 100 per cent of recorded Lost Time Injuries (LTI) even if only an estimated 15 per cent of these required medical treatment beyond first aid and the severity boundary stated by ICMM. In some of the Nordic countries where Boliden operates, employees can decide to stay at home the following day after a minor injury without visiting a health-care provider and still receive 100 per cent of salary. Five per cent of the Injury Without Absence (IWA) estimated to fulfil the ICMM severity boundary for recording are included. Alternative work cases are not included.

8. Codelco does not include employees and contractors performing off-site work-related activities, or third parties in on-site locations, in the data. Codelco does not differentiate between First Aid Case and Medical Treatment.

9. Glencore marketing offices are excluded. A few specific exclusions exist in Glencore's classification guidelines that apply in the determination of whether incidents are workplace related to assist in the decision-making process.

10. JX Nippon Mining and Metals has not compiled data of contractors’ working hours, since the Industrial Safety and Health Act in its operating country does not require it to be filed to government authorities.

11. Minsur’s report includes the safety data of a Joint Venture Operation of Mina Justa (Marcobre S.A.C. - 60  per cent belongs Minsur and 40 per cent belongs to COPEC), Mineracao Taboca S.A. (100  per cent belongs Minsur) and Cumbres del Sur S.A.C. (100 per cent belongs Minsur).

12. MMG – where commuting is provided by MMG (including when transportation is provided by a contractor company e.g. bus transportation from central point of departure to controlled location) incidents of MMG employees are reported and recorded as they are considered as a controlled activity (MMG definition). Exposure hours are included in the calculation of the MMG TRIFR. Contractors commuting incidents are not considered as controlled activities. The incidents are not recorded and the working hours are not included in the calculation of the MMG TRIFR. If a contractor transporting ore under contract has an accident, the incident is reported but not recorded as the activity is considered as uncontrolled (MMG definition).

13. South32 has a few specific exclusions defined in its reporting guidelines.

14. Sumitomo Metal Mining – total hours worked in workforce except employees in Japan is an estimate. The data of total hours worked of contractors in workforce is as of May 2022.

15. Teck is reporting on the operations that it directly manages in 2022. The data does not include partnership sites where Teck has a part interest.  Also per Teck’s definition of a Medical Aid, the use of prescription medication alone for any treatment other than eye injury is not a reportable medical treatment. Use of prescription medication for eye injuries is a reportable medical treatment. Medical treatment also includes the application of a cast or other professional means of immobilising an injured part of the body.