The Southern African mining sector has recorded a significant decline in fatalities, with cases dropping from 200 to 41 over the past two decades.
This improvement is largely attributed to enhanced skills development, with employees trained to identify hazards, respond effectively to risks, and work safely.
The newly appointed director of the Wits Mining Institute (WMI), Dr Pontsho Twala, says the institute’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) training programme, initially developed to strengthen internal health and safety capabilities, is now being extended to the broader sector. The aim is to build the capacity of OHS practitioners across South Africa’s mining industry.
“Since 2023, we rolled out the programme exclusively to Sibanye-Stillwater operations,” says Dr Twala. “The success of the programme in the last three years has led to us opening it up to the wider mining industry.”
The programme is underpinned by evidence-based research to ensure practical relevance to the mining sector’s operational and safety challenges. It now offers two structured pathways: a foundational course comprising three modules, and an advanced certificate in OHS practice.
The foundational course provides a baseline understanding of the mining environment, legislation, and risk management, while the advanced certificate develops higher-order analytical capabilities over a five- to six-month period.
“What distinguishes the WMI’s training approach is its deliberate integration of theory, practice and systems thinking,” explains Dr Twala. “The programme content explicitly links OHS to the mineral value chain, ESG considerations and operational decision-making. This ensures that safety is not treated as a function within a silo, but as part of a broader production system.”
Beyond its training courses, WMI will also host stakeholder dialogues under the theme “Beyond the Fence: How Community Environments Shape Health and Safety Performance in Mining,” with the first session scheduled for May 27, 2026.
“We get beyond the theory by inviting practitioners who understand the environment and the challenges,” says Dr Twala. “Participants do not just listen; they engage, exchange experiences and discuss what is working on the ground and what is not.”
