Mid-tier platinum miner Aquarius Platinum South Africa on Friday apologised for "the premature release of incorrect information to the market" with regard to the outcome of the presidential health and safety legal compliance audit.

Aquarius confirmed that it had met with the Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate of the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) to discuss the matter.

During a conference after the company released its yearly results on February 7, Aquarius CEO Stuart Murray stated that Aquarius had been in discussions with the DME, and declined to comment on the issue, save to say that "there was fault on both sides".

The meetings were scheduled "to resolve the misunderstandings", which arose after the company issued a statement on the JSE in January, claiming it had passed the presidential safety audits that took place at the mine in early December.

The DME slammed the statement two days later and said that it had not cleared any South African mine as part of the audit process.

Ad hoc statements on the Department of Minerals and Energy's health and safety audit of the mines. DME. 23 January 2008. 'The Department of Minerals and Energy has commenced with its health and safety audit of all South African mines. The launch of the audits in mid-December 2007 followed President Thabo Mbeki's order for the department to conduct health and safety audits at all mines in South Africa. The audit will be divided into two streams, namely, the legal audit and the technical audit of certain installation and practices at mines. The outcome of these audits will give an indication of the extent to which mines comply with health and safety requirements, and will also help mines develop programmes of action to improve their health and safety practices and standards. The duration of the audit should be approximately sixteen months. Although the department has started its legal audits at a few South African mines, it has as yet not released any reports on any findings at these mines The department has, therefore, been highly dismayed by media statements made by certain companies claiming that the department has issued them with a clean bill of health. In particular, the department would like to put the record straight with regards to the grossly irresponsible report or statement issued to the media by the chief executive officer of Aquarius, related to the "presidential audits" conducted at their mines. The audit conducted at Marikana could not be completed as the department’s officials were informed upon arrival at the mine to continue with the audit, that all staff "had been fired" as a result of participating in an "illegal strike action". Officials could therefore, not continue with the rest of the audit. Claims by the company that it has received a "clean bill of health" or that it has "passed" the "presidential audit" are thus unfounded. Commenting on the statement made by Aquarius, the Director-General at the Department of Minerals and Energy, Adv. Sandile Nogxina, said, "I would like to state categorically that the department has not yet cleared any South African mine as part of the audit process. The reports of the full audits have not been completed or released yet, so there is really no basis for companies to be claiming clean bills of health at this point." The department’s audits will initially focus on South Africa’s high risk mines, as well as on those with complex operations. Progress reports on the audits and the audit findings will be provided to the minister and the director general on a quarterly basis.

No mines given all-clear yet in probe . IOL of 10 January 2008. 'The government said on Wednesday it had not yet given any company a "clean bill of health" after a probe into mine safety following a spate of fatal accidents in the industry last year. The Department of Minerals and Energy launched a safety audit in December after more than 180 workers were killed in 2007 in rock-falls, explosions or buried during earth tremors in mines owned by some of the world's biggest mining firms. But the department said on Wednesday it had yet to release its findings and criticised companies for saying they had been given the green light. "Although the DME has started its legal audits at a few South African mines, it has as yet not released any reports on any findings at these mines," it said in a statement. "The Department has therefore been highly dismayed by media statements made by certain companies claiming that the Department has issued them with a clean bill of health." The department singled out Aquarius Platinum, after its chief executive was quoted in local media as saying an audit at its jointly-owned Marikana mine had been completed. "The audit conducted at Marikana could not be completed as DME officials were informed upon arrival at the mine to continue with the audit, that all staff 'had been fired' as result of participating in an 'illegal strike action'," the department added. "Officials could therefore, not continue with the rest of the audit. Claims by the company that it has received a 'clean bill of health' or that it has 'passed' the 'Presidential Audit' are thus unfounded."

Safety certificates aren't meant to be hidden away. Busrep of 15 January 2008.

'Aquarius Platinum continues to stand by its claim that the department of minerals and energy gave its Marikana and Everest mines the all clear on the safety front, despite vehement denials to the contrary by the department. Aquarius spokesperson Nick Bias yesterday said the firm stood by its statement and that "this is a matter for Aquarius and the department to discuss". He declined to provide proof for its safety claims. The timing of the Aquarius statement concerning a clean bill of health for its two mines came earlier this month - far too soon after the presidential safety audit began last month. It appears as if Aquarius was trying to allay investor fears about safety at its mines; or that it was trying to beat the department to the punch so that its version of the story reached the public first. The department says serious safety problems were discovered at both mines, including the lack of proper support that resulted in parts of Everest being shut for up to two weeks. Surely the department would have issued a certificate to Aquarius in the instance where it passed the safety audit; Aquarius could now make that certificate or similar document available in public. There have been deaths at Aquarius mines - an indicator that there is at least room for improvement - so there can be no chance the department would have given Aquarius a 100 percent clean bill of health. If the department did give away a clean bill of health, then the limited human and financial resources applied to the national audit are wasted and it is a huge farce. Aquarius should really come to the public with definitive proof that the department gave it the all clear. A statement like "it's a private matter between Aquarius and the department" is out of order. Mine safety is a critical national issue that needs to be discussed in the open and not behind closed doors.

Aquarius making a 'farce' of safety audit. Busrep of 15 January 2008.
 

Platinum producer Aquarius was making a joke of the presidential safety audit, trade union Solidarity said on Tuesday.

"The company insists that it has passed the audit, despite denials by the Department of Minerals and Energy and other role players," the union said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Aquarius Platinum said its Everest and Marikana mines in South Africa had passed the presidential safety audits in respect of mine safety as conducted by the Department of Minerals and Energy.

The department then responded by saying it had not yet cleared any South African mines as part of the presidential safety audit.

Solidarity said trade unions had played no part in the "audit" of Aquarius Platinum.

"One of the principles laid down for the audit is that government, labour and the company being audited must all participate before the process can be declared a success," the trade union said.

The Marikana operations of Aquarius Platinum are managed by contractor Murray & Roberts Cementation, and its Everest operations by contractor JIC, Solidarity said.

The latter took over from Shaft Sinkers at the end of December.

"In both these instances, the contractors were to have been an integral part of the audit. Both operations were blighted with fatal accidents in December and some mining operations at Everest were suspended for a fortnight," Solidarity said.

The trade union said it was time for Aquarius Platinum chief executive officer Stuart Murray to step down if he could not co-operate with the department and organised labour in performing the audit.

"Aquarius Platinum even had the temerity to announce on SENS that it had passed the audit, and the CEO was quoted in the statement," Solidarity said.

A total of 221 workers died in accidents last year and labour regarded safety as the "highest priority".

"Trade unions simply have to protect their members against perilous working conditions and the greed that results from high commodity prices," said Solidarity spokesman Reint Dykema.

"The DME investigation at Aquarius Platinum found serious structural defects at both Marikana and Everest. Why then would the DME suddenly find everything in order?"

Solidarity said it would not allow companies to turn the audit into "a farce".

"Mine safety is a national issue that must be tackled in a transparent process in which organised labour is a participant."

Comment was not immediately forthcoming from Aquarius Platinum.

NUM condemns Aquarius Platinum's ‘false claim'. Mining News of 11 January 2008.

'The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Thursday condemned "in the strongest possible terms" Aquarius Platinum‘s "false claim" that it had received a clean bill of health after a Presidential safety audit. "We are taken aback and surprised that Aquarius can choose to be so economical about the truth to an extent of misleading the nation about a matter of such importance," NUM general secretary said Frans Baleni said in a media release. Adding to a furore the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) sparked on Wednesday with an equally critical rebuttal of the JSE, ASX and London-listed Aquarius, Baleni condemned the platinum company's claim as a reflection of "how playful" the industry was when dealing with the lives of people. Baleni said it also reflected an industry which continued to "feed untruths, exploit mineworkers and hide the realities" taking place at the expense of workers' lives. "As a matter of fact, we do not have the slightest doubt that the audits are going to produce something contrary to what the mine claim," Baleni said, in possible reference to a DME spokesperson's claim that parts of one of Aquarius' mines were unsafe. He said it was "indeed very disturbing" that Aquarius management had taken a decision to issue such fallacious statements claiming that their Marikana and Everest mines had both passed audits, when "main stakeholders" NUM and the DME were unaware of the successful completion of any audit. NUM appealed to Aquarius to refrain from such "deviant behaviour".

Aquarius' Everest, Marikana mines pass govt's safety audit. Mining News of 8 January 2008.

'The first mine audited under the newly instituted presidential safety audit, Aquarius Platinum's Everest mine, has passed the inspection. The company's Marikana mine has also completed and passed the audit, and the Kroondal mine is yet to be scheduled for the audit, the company said on Monday. The audits, undertaken by the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME), comprised two streams, namely a legal audit and a technical audit of certain installations and practices at mines. These included design and maintenance with regard to the provision of healthy and safe working conditions, servicing and maintenance of all equipment and systems, communication systems, occupational health and safety policy, safety risk management, mandatory codes of practice, explosives control, water management, and public health and safety. President Thabo Mbeki ordered the audit in October, after 3 200 workers were trapped underground at a major gold mine.

In addition to passing the safety audit, the Marikana mine also underwent a DME mining right compliance inspection, in terms of the new order mining right granted by the DME. "These audits require considerable preparation in terms of management, time and resources and demonstrate that our mines are in good standing, and that the board's regard for safety and operating standards is being adhered to at operational level," said Aquarius CEO Stuart Murray. He added that the audits occurred during a challenging quarter for all of the company's South African operations, where voluntary shutdowns related to safety matters had impacted output. "Looking forward, the South African mines are in good shape to improve production levels despite the number of challenges that arose during the second quarter," he affirmed. At Marikana, the return to work of labour would continue following illegal industrial action. At Kroondal, the ramp-up of the new K5 shaft was said to be making good progress, and the K2 concentrator was back to full capacity after being stopped for substantial unplanned maintenance work arising from the yearly inspection.

Repairs were undertaken to cracks discovered in the teeth of the girth-gears of both primary and secondary mills, and picking up this problem early was likely to avert a possible mill outage in the future, albeit at the expense of some production in the quarter, the company explained. "The combined impact of the prior announced shutdowns, illegal industrial action and mill repairs has impacted production by approximately 12 000 platinum group metal (PGM) ounces. Financially, the impact has been positively offset by strengthening PGM prices recorded during the period," Murray concluded.

Aquarius' claim that mines passed safety audits unfounded - DME

The Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) said on Wednesday that it had not released any reports on any findings of the presidential safety audit, contradicting a report from Aquarius Platinum that its Everest and Marikana mines had passed the audits.

"I would like to state categorically that the DME has not yet cleared any South African mine as part of the audit process. The reports of the full audits have not been completed or released yet, so there is really no basis for companies to be claiming clean bills of heath at this point," DME DG Sandile Nogxina stated.

"The audit conducted at Marikana could not be completed as DME officials were informed upon arrival at the mine to continue with the audit, that all staff ‘had been fired' as result of participating in an ‘llegal strike action'. Officials could therefore, not continue with the rest of the audit. Claims by the company that it has received a ‘clean bill of health' or that it has ‘passed' the ‘presidential audit' are thus unfounded," the DME reiterated in a statement to the press.

Aquarius Platinum spokesperson Nick Bias declined to comment on Wednesday afternoon. "We're sticking to our previous statement," he told Mining Weekly Online.

The DME said that it had started the audits in mid-December, which were initiated as a response to a directive issued by President Thabo Mbeki after increasing fatal accidents in South African mines towards the end of 2007.

The audits comprise a legal audit, and a technical audit of certain installations and practices at mines. The outcome of these audits would give an indication of the extent to which mines comply with health and safety requirements, and would help mines develop programmes of action to improve their health and safety practices and standards.

The audit is expected to take up to 16 months, and progress reports on the individual audits, and the audit findings will be provided to the Minister and the DG on a quarterly basis.

Safety below par at Aquarius mines, says DME. M & G of 10 January 2008.

Johannesburg - The department of minerals and energy (DME) has discovered serious safety problems at Aquarius Platinum's Everest and Marikana platinum mines as part of the presidential safety audit of South Africa's 700 mines. The problems include a lack of proper support that resulted in parts of Everest being shut for up to two weeks.

Thabo Dube, the acting chief inspector of mines, yesterday denied claims by Aquarius earlier this week that the company had received a clean bill of health following the audits at Everest and Marikana.

"That is not true; it is a misrepresentation," he said. "There are safety problems at both mines. The two mines are not up to scratch."

Aquarius spokesperson Nick Bias was not able to comment.

Dube said the department had completed the audit of 43 mines, and would audit all high-risk mines or those with complex operations within six months. The full audit was expected to take 16 months.
The department said it had not released any findings for the mines that had been audited.

Aquarius said that the audit of Everest and Marikana had been completed last month.

Sandile Nogxina, the minerals and energy director-general, said: "The department has not yet cleared any mine … The full audits have not been completed or released yet, so there is no basis for companies to claim clean bills of health."

Dube said the audit at Marikana had not been completed last month because of an illegal strike, as a result of which many workers had been fired. "We are going back to Marikana to complete the audit."

He added: "The audit at Everest has been completed, but a number of issues need to be sorted out."

Safety below par at Aquarius mines, says DME. Busrep of 10 January 2008.

Johannesburg - The department of minerals and energy (DME) has discovered serious safety problems at Aquarius Platinum's Everest and Marikana platinum mines as part of the presidential safety audit of South Africa's 700 mines. The problems include a lack of proper support that resulted in parts of Everest being shut for up to two weeks.

Thabo Dube, the acting chief inspector of mines, yesterday denied claims by Aquarius earlier this week that the company had received a clean bill of health following the audits at Everest and Marikana.

"That is not true; it is a misrepresentation," he said. "There are safety problems at both mines. The two mines are not up to scratch."

Aquarius spokesperson Nick Bias was not able to comment.

Dube said the department had completed the audit of 43 mines, and would audit all high-risk mines or those with complex operations within six months. The full audit was expected to take 16 months.

The department said it had not released any findings for the mines that had been audited.

Aquarius said that the audit of Everest and Marikana had been completed last month.

Sandile Nogxina, the minerals and energy director-general, said: "The department has not yet cleared any mine … The full audits have not been completed or released yet, so there is no basis for companies to claim clean bills of health."

Dube said the audit at Marikana had not been completed last month because of an illegal strike, as a result of which many workers had been fired. "We are going back to Marikana to complete the audit."

He added: "The audit at Everest has been completed, but a number of issues need to be sorted out."