Mines in SA will restart production at half their capacity then gradually ramp up under strictly controlled conditions with expectations to reach full production late in May, the government said on Thursday.
Mining companies could tap into various sources of funding, including the interest on their rehabilitation funds, to pay for Covid-19 screening, testing and quarantine systems.
In a governmental briefing on Thursday, co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said all coal mines that supply coal to Eskom have to operate at full capacity. Fuel refineries have to return to full production to ensure people are able to move about as the five-week lockdown is gradually lifted from the end of April.
“We’ve agreed the mines must start operating. They will start operating at 50%, then the minister, through directions, will ramp them up to full capacity in an orderly way,” she said.
There are 450,000 miners who must return to work in a phased manner under strict controls to ensure they are not infected with Covid-19. The biggest risk is at labour-intensive, underground mines that have been shut.
“We identified the risk in deep mines that if they’re left alone for a long time the stability of the ground is affected and gases accumulate,” mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe said, noting that keeping those mines shut for much longer could mean the industry would be “confronted with disasters”.
“We must allow a situation of phased recall of workers to those mines and deal with the question of ramping up production, while minimising the risk of accidents and disasters,” he said.
“The question of whether mining will be fully operational by the beginning of May — that’s wishful thinking. It would be ideal if it could. The production is incremental, ramping up. My estimate is that it will go deep into May before coming into full production.”
Surface operations
Mines that could operate on the surface and have smelters or refineries have been given permission for limited production, not using more than half their normal staffing numbers to ensure social-distancing and effective health measures.
“These conditions include the screening and testing of miners coming back to the mines. The industry must provide quarantine facilities for those miners who might need them. The mining companies must arrange for transport for their employees, the SA component,” Dlamini-Zuma said.
The return of employees from neighbouring countries will be dealt with separately at another time, she said.
The Minerals Council SA said the sector has “comprehensive healthcare infrastructure” and can screen, test and manage employees found to have the coronavirus. It has the means to sanitise working areas and transport, and provide protective gear and facilities for quarantine.
“The Minerals Council and organised labour have engaged on the standard operating procedures and there is broad alignment,” it said.
SA’s debt-laden mines. with high fixed costs. stand to lose between 10,000 and 45,000 jobs in the national lockdown if they receive no support, the council warned on Wednesday.
In an economic assessment of the lockdown that started on March 27 to curb the spread of Covid-19, the council warned that full-year mineral production would be 5% lower than in 2019 if it resumed after the initial 21-day shut down, but more than 15% if the lockdown went on for a longer period.
Update: April 16 2020
This article has been updated with comment from the Minerals Council SA.
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