Several fatal accidents were unreported, only discovered during field visits - Inquiry says

Several fatal accidents were unreported, only discovered during field visits – Inquiry says

Sep 14, 2015 News

– employers’ liability insurance recommended

By Jarryl Bryan

The Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the mining pit deaths has reported that several accidents, including fatal ones, were not recorded by the regulatory agencies as no reports were received from operators.
These accidents were reported to have only been uncovered during the COI’s forays into the field. The COI did its field work and compilation of reports from July 1st to July 31st, during which time, its members would have visited a number of accident sites.
It was during these visits that these startling gaps in reporting accidents were uncovered, and to prevent future repeats, the COI recommended that all accidents, not only fatal ones, be reported within a specified time frame.
In fact, the COI recommended that the records should form part of that which operators are obligated to submit on a regular basis.
For the last 15 months, according to figures released by the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) last week, there have been 28 deaths due to 18 accidents within the mining industry.
There have been 62 fatalities from 2010 to 2015 involving mostly young men within the mining industry, lending justice to its reputation of being Guyana’s most hazardous industry.
GGDMA executive Colin Sparman at the Association’s 33rd Annual General Meeting last week, had described these figures as “scandalous and unacceptable”, considering the low population base from which these figures were compiled.
It was also revealed that 25 deaths have been recorded between June 2014 and June 2015, 18 of which were the result of pit failure accidents.
Determining that all pit failure accidents were the result of mine facings (walls) collapsing and covering workers while in an active pit, the COI had reported that the principal causes were due to the neglect of safe mining practices and shortcuts being taken to extract ore.

The Mowasi mining pit, with one of the victims being extracted

In addition, the required safety practices relating to overburden (left over earth extracted from the pit) removal and proper mining delineation (definition) to isolate mining blocks have been absent. The latter would have resulted in workers reworking tailings placed in an old pit.
What is worse is that the COI has reported that mine operators were aware that they were operating in a high hazard environment, but still did not take steps to ensure that Operational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations were adhered to.
All of this, according to the COI, is because there was a lax culture in regard to security and a strong drive for gold production at the expense of the health and safety of workers. Observing that miners appeared wired for gold, not for safety, the COI report strongly recommended that where risks and hazards are identified, mining operations must be halted until they are properly addressed.
Mine workers
In consideration of the family and dependants of those who lost their lives in pursuit of gold, the COI also recommended an Employers Liability Insurance to be in place, in order to provide a mechanism for compensation, with clearly defined guidelines for implementing.
Meanwhile, among the COI’s recommendations was for workers to take a more proactive role in health and safety initiatives. This, the COI report stated, required legislative guidance from Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
It was also noted that there was a necessity for everyone involved in the mining industry to be certified and actively engaged in basic health and safety training on an annual basis.
The report said that the managers of active mining operations must have clear and certified OSH qualifications and be deemed competent as required under the mining regulations.
All of this, the report advised, could be tied in with the granting of mining privileges.
It was also noted that there are gaps between the OSH Act and GGMC guides to health and safety, which needed to be filled. In addition, it was highlighted in the report that operating regulations supporting OSH acts were either absent or not specific.
The COI also determined that the pending draft regulations are outdated in the current mining situations locally and need to be recalled for revision. These changes, the COI determined, could be advanced by a special task force.
The COI into mining deaths was ordered by President David Granger following Guyana’s worst mining accident in recent memory- the collapse of a Mowasi, Potaro mining pit that buried 10 miners alive. It was conducted by Chairman Dr. Grantley Waldron, Colin Sparman, of Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association (GGDMA), a representative of the Ministry of Social Protection, with Jo Bayah as the Technical Advisor.