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COMMISSION
  
OF
  
INQUIRY
  
INTO
  
SAFETY
  
AND
  
HEALTH
  
IN
  
THE
  
MINING
  
INDUSTRY 
 
31 
 
-a comprehensive investigation should be instituted to determine the efficacy and relative merits of 
stabilising pillars and backfill as regional support; and 
 
-research should be intensified to seek ways and means of gaining better control of problems 
arising from rock failure as urgently as possible.  Unless this is achieved within a reasonable time, 
the long term future of ultra deep mining is in jeopardy. 
 
3.3 
SAFETY PERFORMANCE IN COAL MINING 
 
3.3.1  Accident Statistics 
 
Coal mine accidents for 1993 are analysed in a similar way to that for gold mines in 
the following table. 
 
TABLE 8: 
MOST SIGNIFICANT ACCIDENT TYPES IN COAL MINING 
 
 
TYPES OF ACCIDENT 
INJURIES   
KILLED 
 
TOTAL 
 
 
 
 
Nr. %   
Nr. %   
Nr. % 
C. 
Dust/Methane 
 1 0,4 
 53 
58.9 
 54 
14,6 
Explosions 
 
Fall 
of 
Ground 
  60 
21,5 
 21 
23.3 
 81 
22,0 
 
Cumulative 
  61 
21,9 
 74 
82,2 
 135 
36.6 
 
Transport 
& 
Mining 
 94 
33,7 
 11 
12,2 
 105 
28,5 
 
Cumulative 
  155 
55,6 
 85 
94,4 
 240 
65,1 
 
Manual handling of    
34 
12,2   
- 
0 
 
34 
9,2 
Material/Mineral 
 
Cumulative 
  189 
67,7 
 85 
94,4 
 274 
74,3 
 
Falling 
In/From  29 
10,4 
 1 1,1 
 30 
8,1 
Slipping & Falling 
 
Cumulative 
  218 
78,1 
 86 
95,6 
 304 
82,4 
 
TOTAL   279 
100,0 
 90 
100,0 
 369 
100,0 
 
 
This table confirms an earlier observation.  Explosions of methane and / or coal dust 
played a major role in the fatality statistics in coal mining for 1993.  This category 
was responsible for one injury and 53 fatalities.  Explosions of this kind are dreaded 
by all coal miners since they can occur even in the best managed industries and may 
be responsible for large numbers of fatalities.  They tend to disturb the long term 
trend of statistics.  It is tempting to suggest that trends should be examined after 
removing explosions from the reckoning. Unfortunately the situation in South Africa  
 

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COMMISSION
  
OF
  
INQUIRY
  
INTO
  
SAFETY
  
AND
  
HEALTH
  
IN
  
THE
  
MINING
  
INDUSTRY 
 
32 
 
is not simple.  Explosions seem to be part of a long term trend. 
 
The Chamber of Mines produced a research paper (COM Submissions Ch 22) 
entitled “Coal Mine Explosions”.  In the course of the public hearing it became 
evident that the author of this paper was Professor H R Phillips, Professor of Mining 
Engineering in the University of the Witwatersrand, and to which he referred during 
his evidence.  It contains a summary of the pertinent data concerning mine 
explosions in South African collieries since 1897, the year of the first recorded 
explosion.  The table shows that the impact of explosions and the total number of 
fatalities has grown dramatically.  To illustrate this point, the number of men killed 
in explosions, and the total number of fatalities were added for the 13 year period 
from 1981, (when an apparent lull in the occurrence of explosions ended), to 1993 
inclusive. For the purposes of comparison, the exercise was repeated for two more 
periods of 13 years, to produce table 9. 
 
TABLE 9: 
NUMBER OF PERSONS KILLED IN EXPLOSION AND TOTAL 
 
 
 
NUMBER OF FATALITIES IN COAL MINES 
 
 
PERIOD   NUMBER 
KILLED 
  TOTAL NUMBER  PERCENTAGE
 
(INCLUSIVE) 
IN EXPLOSIONS   
OF FATALITIES  KILLED IN 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EXPLOSIONS 
 
1955-1967 
  51 
   1,552 
  3,3 
 
1968-1980 
  34 
   1,204 
  2,8 
 
1981-1993 
  233 
   1,096 
  21,3 
 
 
 
While strictly speaking the validity of choosing 13 year periods as a basis of 
comparison can be questioned, the inference from the table can hardly be 
challenged.  Undoubtedly, since about the start of the 1980s mine explosions have 
become a major threat to safety in South African coal mines.  This change is 
particularly significant because it represents a movement against the overall trend.  
The non-explosion fatalities during the periods 1968 - 80 and 1981 - 93 show a 
reduction of 22,1% and 42,5% respectively relative to the years 1955 - 67. 
 
Professor Phillips also provided some information to show that this phenomenon is 
contrary to the trends in advanced coal mining countries. 
 
He provided somewhat dated information with respect to the United Kingdom, 
where in more recent time no explosion causing loss of life has occurred since 1979.  
A similar rarity of explosions is seen in the USA, Australia, Germany and Canada.  
There was other information giving the impression the South Africa was not alone in 
its disheartening explosion record. 
 
The average number of non-explosion fatalities in coal mines was 55,5 per year 
during the last ten years.  This is still a large number.  In contrast, for example,  
 

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