4.3.1 Strategic focus areas - Safety and wellness

Occupational disease at the South Deep mine (rate per 1,000 employees)

  2015     20141 20131  
Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL)2 0.68     1.52 0.62  
Cardio-respiratory tuberculosis (CRTB) 6.16     9.15 6.5  
Silicosis1 1.54     2.67 1.86  
Chronic obstructive airways disease (COAD)2 0.17     0.76 0.00  
South Deep workforce 5,837     5,246 6,466  
1 Numbers are now presented per 1,000 employees. Comparatives have been restated
2 Based on the number of cases submitted for compensation


Gold Fields continues to uphold its promise, ‘if we cannot mine safely, we will not mine’. This reflects the need to minimise any potential negative impact on people, maintain operational continuity and protect the Company’s reputation. Gold Fields’ Group annual performance bonus contains a significant safety component (p133). Furthermore, maintaining safe and healthy working conditions is a key compliance issue for the Company.

As stated in its Occupational Health and Safety Policy, Gold Fields strives for ‘Zero Harm’ at all of its operations and to minimise occupational health and safety hazards. All of the Group’s operations are certified to the OHSAS 18001 international health and safety management standard and are fully compliant with the requirements of the International Cyanide Management Code (ICMC). As Cerro Corona produces a copper-gold concentrate it is not required to comply with the ICMC

Safety performance
Group safety performance
  2015     2014 2013  
TRIFR1 3.40     4.04 4.14  
Fatalities 4 5   3 2  
Lost time injuries2 68     75 52  
Restricted work injuries3 68     84 73  
Medically treated injuries4 35     38 54  
Total recordable injuries 174     200 181  
Total hours worked 51,198,910     49,456,833 43,767,818  
1 Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR) Group safety metric was introduced in 2013. TRIFR = (Fatalities + Lost Time Injuries + Restricted Work Injuries + Medically Treated Injuries) x 1,000,000/number of man-hours worked
2 A Lost Time Injury (LTI) is a work-related injury resulting in the employee or contractor being unable to attend work for a period of one or more days after the day of the injury. The employee or contractor is unable to perform any of his/her dutie
3 A Restricted Work Injury (RWI) is a work-related injury sustained by an employee or contractor which results in the employee or contractor being unable to perform one or more of their routine functions for a full working day, from the day after the injury occurred. The employee or contractor can still perform some of his/her duties
4 A Medically Treated Injury (MTI) is a work-related injury sustained by an employee or contractor which does not incapacitate that employee and who, after having received medical treatment, is deemed fit to immediately resume his/her normal duties on the next calendar day, immediately following the treatment or re-treatment
5 Three of the four fatalities were workplace accidents. A fourth fatality was a member of the protection services team at South Deep who was shot and killed during a robbery at the mine


During the reporting period, the Group’s overall Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR) improved by almost 16% to 3.40 recordable incidents per million man-hours (2014: 4.04). This reflected:

  • A significant reduction in the total recordable injuries at South Deep (p69)
  • A continued reduction in total recordable injuries at our Australian operations, with the exception of the Granny Smith mine, following the entrenchment of a behavioural-based health and safety strategy (p69)
  • A deterioration in the TRIFR at Cerro Corona as well as our Ghanaian mines (p69)

Nevertheless, we reported four fatalities during 2015. Three fatalities occurred at the South Deep mine in South Africa and one at the Tarkwa mine in Ghana:

  • In March, Kennedy Katongo, a boilermaker, was injured at a station tip. He succumbed to his injuries in hospital three days later.
  • Alberto Chiungo, a contracted locomotive operator, was fatally injured in May, when he was caught between the loco and a hopper during tramming operations
  • In August, Sbongiseni Ngqoleka, a security contractor, was shot and killed by armed robbers targeting copper cables at South Deep. Two other security personnel were injured in the same attack
  • In December, a spotter at Tarkwa, Clement Aidoo, was struck and fatally injured by a truck when it reversed after dumping its load of material

The two fatal mine accidents at South Deep and a further serious injury at the mine precipitated the issuing of Section 54 orders by the Department of Mineral Resources, placing a moratorium on minerelated activities across the mine. This effectively stopped production at the mine for a total of 18 days, with production losses estimated at around 8500 ounces.

Safety management
Details of specific regional safety initiatives implemented in 2015 are set out below:

Americas region
In 2015, the TRIFR at the Cerro Corona mine deteriorated to 1.09 from 0.38 in 2014, largely the result of an increase in total recordable injuries from two to seven during the year. While a number of audits were performed on the mine’s safety management system, with no major findings reported, the mine has intensified a safety campaign that commits all employees and contractors to zero accidents. The campaign contains 10 relevant safety rules that every employee and contractor has to sign up to and focuses on improving the leadership skill of safety supervisors and conducting robust risk assessments before performing tasks.

Australia region
For 2015, the TRIFR for Gold Fields Australia improved by 4.5% over 2014 and the number of recordable injuries fell from 97 to 92. The St Ives, Agnew and Darlot mines recorded continued improvements in their recordable injury frequency rates, but at Granny Smith the TRIFR deteriorated from its low 2014 base during 2015.

The rising TRIFR trend at Granny Smith has been predominantly related to incidents underground. Efforts to address the trend are focused around a re-vitalisation of the Vital Behaviours programme, specifically in the underground areas, providing coaching and mentoring for supervisors and managers and a return to the required levels of discipline on safety protocols and systems. Launched in May 2014, the programme has achieved an overall reduction in total recordable injuries of around 30% over the period of 2013 to 2015.

A risk assessment undertaken on all recordable injuries since 2012 indicates that the risk of incidences that result in recordable injuries is steadily declining with no high-risk events having occurred since the implementation of Vital Behaviours in 2014 and 2015.

However, a re-vitalisation of the Vital Behaviours programme and safety discipline will be instituted in 2016 to reinforce safety culture and standards at our mines. A particular focus will be new employees and contractors, where there is evidence of a greater risk of injury.

South Africa region
The South Deep mine reported two mining-related fatalities and one fatal shooting in 2015, undoubtedly the low point in its safety performance during the year. The fatalities were a setback on the mine’s path to Zero Harm, but overall South Deep showed a strong improvement in its safety performance as highlighted by the 37% improvement in TRIFR from 4.65 in 2014 to 2.91 in 2015. Total injuries improved from 167 to 68 over the same period, while the Serious Injury Frequency Rate improved by 21%. A 38 injury-free day record was achieved during Q4.

A number of new initiatives were launched in 2015 to complement and support the behavioural-based incident-management system, which is the base for the mine’s safety campaign. These include:

  • Proper start-up procedures through workplace assessments and employees’ medical screening
  • Increased visibility underground through multi-discipline audits and management presence
  • The launch of a number of safety enablers, such as competitions and recognition awards
  • A weekly safety meeting at which all incidents are discussed and analysed
  • A compliance system checklist that ensures work is stopped if a workplace is not fully compliant with safety standards
  • Ongoing monitoring of the top five accident causes and ensuring appropriate measures are in place
  • The inclusion of leading and lagging indicators in the analysis of the safety component of the bonus. Achievement of safety targets accounts for 30% of the total bonus paid to teams

In addition to behavioural-based management, South Deep has also intensified its effort to engineer-out safety risks. As part of this a rail-bound proximity detection system was completed in Q1 2016, through which all 56 locomotives at the mine have been fitted and relevant operators and artisans trained in its usage. The second phase of the project will comprise the installation of fixed beacons at the mine in 2016, to facilitate communication between the locomotives.

Fall-of-ground accidents have been on a steady decline and fell from eight in 2014 to six in 2015. We continue to work with outside institutions, including the Institute of Mine Seismology, to monitor, understand and mitigate against seismic underground events.

A further focus on safety management in 2016 will be placed on safety practices for contractors through a dedicated incident management system.

West Africa region
In 2015, there was a deterioration in the overall safety performance of the region, with the TRIFR rate rising to 1.02 from 0.75 in 2014 and total recordable injuries rising to 21, from 15 in 2014. The Tarkwa mine also reported a fatality in 2015, the first at our West African operations in four years.

Several interventions are being considered to prevent a re- occurrence of the accident, which occurred when a dump truck ran over a spotter after he had offloaded waste rock. The mine is looking at a number of ways of eliminating the human interface with machinery, wherever possible, and investigations have also begun into the use of other spotting systems for trucks.

A key part of the safety strategy is a zero tolerance approach to drug and alcohol usage. As part of the mines’ zero tolerance approach almost 126,664 sobriety tests were conducted during 2015 and 15 employees and contractors, who were found to be over the limit, were discharged immediately. The zero tolerance approach is supported by free counselling and educational sessions on drug and alcohol abuse.

Behavioural-based safety programmes are being intensified to arrest the weaker safety record at both mines and more regular meetings between senior management and their teams on safety are now taking place. The majority of safety-related incidents involve contractors on site and greater pressure is being exerted on contractor management to ensure effective supervision and implementation of safety standards.

Employee health and wellness management
Gold Fields is committed to reducing the exposure of its employees to occupational health risks, including those associated with air quality, silicosis, tuberculosis and hearing loss. As such, each region has implemented occupational health and hygiene monitoring for diesel particulates, respirable and silica dust, other airborne pollutants, radiation and noise. Particular emphasis is placed on managing the underground working environments in Gold Fields’ Australian and South African operations, due to the heightened health risks that underground mining poses to workers.

There have been significant improvements in occupational health and wellness rates throughout the Group during 2015. The number of occupational health cases submitted for compensation by the Group was as follows:

  • Six cases of NIHL (2014: 13)
  • Nine cases of Silicosis (2014: 15) at South Deep

Furthermore, in 2015, 36 new cases of CRTB (2014: 49) were recorded. In addition, the COAD rate has decreased by 78% from 0.76 (2014) to 0.17 (2015) at the South Deep mine.

Wellness is a material issue given the location of Gold Fields’ mines, the nature of employees’ working patterns and the lifestyle challenges associated with the sector. All of Gold Fields’ regions run dedicated wellness programmes, tailored to both the national and local context of each mining operation. These programmes aim to identify and manage chronic medical conditions within the workforce, whilst also maximising its productive capacity and reducing absenteeism.

Noise
During 2015, Gold Fields’ South Deep mine achieved a significant 55% improvement in the NIHL rate to 0.68 per 1,000 employees and in the number of NIHL cases submitted from eight in 2014 to four in 2015. Throughout 2015, the mine met the Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC) milestone for equipment noise not to exceed 110 (A-weighted) decibels (dB(A)). Personal noise sampling results, even though they are steadily improving, indicate that 72% of South Deep’s personnel are potentially exposed to noise measurements above the Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) of 85dB. It is important to note that these measurements do not incorporate the noise reduction effect provided by hearing protection devices, which are freely available at South Deep, and are compulsory to wear in demarcated areas.

South Deep continues to implement a range of medical, educational and engineering interventions to improve its performance. These include:

  • Thorough examinations during pre-employment and periodic medical examinations
  • Early diagnosis and management of treatable medical diseases
  • Preventative counseling on NIHL
  • Silencing of underground fans and pumps
  • Application of noise management measures to the underground mining fleet
  • Participation in Chamber of Mines' occupational health initiatives
  • Distribution of personalised moulded hearing protection devices to high-risk employees, a programme that is 65% complete

The Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC) has set new targets, which require that total noise emitted by all mining equipment should not exceed 107 dB(A) by 2024. South Deep will continue to develop and enhance technical solutions to achieve this target.

At our Australian operations a comprehensive NIHL strategy was rolled out during the year, to ensure that the management of noise is standardised within the region. This strategy, which remains a key priority, optimises current practices and aims to maintain personal noise exposures below 85dB(A) for the duration of the shift. The strategy centres around four pillars:

  • Adopting a risk-based approach
  • Implementation of controls and engineering solutions to reduce exposures
  • Enforce the correct use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)
  • Ongoing monitoring to assess the efficacy of our controls

A number of audiometric tests at our operations showed that the strategy is demonstrating early success.

There were no reportable NIHL cases in the region and at St Ives, where audiometric testing was completed for 127 workers exposed to above 95dB(A) in the underground and open pit operations, none reported positive for NIHL. Furthermore, only nine vehicles and machinery equipment across our four operations recorded noise levels above 110dB(A) throughout 2015. Operators of this equipment use appropriate hearing protection to ensure noise levels below 85dB(A).

In West Africa during 2015, the number of NIHL cases reported fell to two from five in 2014, but personal noise samples taken at our Tarkwa and Damang mines regularly reveal high percentages above our internal standard of 85dB(A). This does not factor in the mitigating impact of hearing protection devices. Noise management measures implemented to protect employees working in these environments include:

  • The mandatory use of hearing protection devices (ear plugs and ear muff) in areas with noise exposures above 85dB(A)
  • Introduction of noise engineering controls, where feasible, to reduce potential exposure from identified noise sources
  • Introducing pump and fan silencing methods and technologies

Controlling equipment cabin noise is another focus of our Ghanaian operation as a small percentage of 160 machines assessed during 2015 exceed the internal benchmark of
83dB(A). Continuous monitoring of the operator workstations as well as a number of in-pit machines such as drill rigs, excavators, dump trucks and graders are undertaken every six months. Engineering controls, such as sound proof seals for equipment operator cabins, are also having a positive impact on noise levels.

Silica dust exposure
In 2015 the MHSC introduced new aspirational silica dust exposure targets for South African gold mines, called ‘silica dust milestones’. These milestones require that personal exposure levels to silica dust be reduced from 0.1mg/m³ to <0.05mg/m³ by 2024. In Q4 2015, South Deep reported that 23% of the personal silica dust samples exceeded this level. This is an improvement from the 38% over exposures recorded in Q1 2015, but South Deep has accelerated the implementation of a range of improved dust control measures, including:

  • Real-time dust monitoring
  • The fitting of water mist sprays at dust sources
  • Dust management controls on footwalls and internal tips
  • Installation of manually controlled water blasts in all working areas

In South Africa, during 2015 the Silicosis rate per 1,000 employees improved by 43% to 1.54 from 2.67 in 2014 with the number of Silicosis cases submitted to the relevant health authorities falling from 14 to nine. Similarly, the CRTB rate improved by 33% in 2015 to 6.16 per 1,000 employees and the number of CRTB cases submitted fell to 36 in 2015 from 48 in 2014.

The industry working group formed in 2014 to address issues relating to compensation and medical care for occupational lung disease in the South African gold mining industry, had extensive engagements with a wide range of stakeholders in 2015, including government, organised labour, other mining companies and legal representatives of claimants who have filed legal suits against the companies.

The companies – Anglo American South Africa, AngloGold Ashanti, African Rainbow Minerals, Gold Fields, Harmony and Sibanye – believe that fairness and sustainability are crucial elements of any solution and are working together with these stakeholders to design and implement a comprehensive solution that is both fair to past, present and future gold mining employees and also sustainable for the sector.

The companies are among respondent companies in a number of lawsuits related to occupational lung disease, but do not believe that they are liable in respect of the claims brought, and they are defending these. The companies have been working for many years to try to eliminate the incidence of occupational lung disease at their mines. These efforts continue.

At our open pit operations in Ghana, Australia and Peru, contact with silica dust is limited due to the nature of open pit mining and the low silica content of the ore bodies.

In 2015, there were no new cases of Silicosis and CRTB at our Ghanaian operations. However, there was only one case each in 2014. Despite this, regular gravimetric sampling of respirable silica dust samples are carried out and evaluated at our Tarkwa mine in Ghana.

Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM)
Gold Fields undertakes regular monitoring and analysis of the concentration of DPM at all of its operations. This issue is particularly material at Gold Fields’ underground mines in Australia and South Africa, due to the potential concentration of particulates in specific working areas.

While there are no regulatory limits, the Australia region implemented a strategy in 2014 designed to reduce exposure to DPM with a focus on fitting filters to equipment, refining maintenance schedules, ensuring the correct levels of ventilation and providing appropriate procedural controls.

Sampling programmes during 2015 have indicated the success of this initiative with a dramatic decline in DPM levels underground, to a point where only 1% of samples (2014: 2%) have exceeded the 70mg/m3 target recommended by the Australian Institute for Occupational Hygienists. Furthermore, a two-year study on DPM exposure on drill-rig operators at Granny Smith, showed a conclusive reduction in exposures that are attributed to diesel particulate filters, ventilation management and operator education.

In South Africa, the Department of Mineral Resources has developed a draft regulatory framework to establish a DPM OEL. This proposal, published in February 2014, recommended a four-year ‘step-in- approach’ starting at 350mg/m3 in 2015 and systematically decreasing to 160mg/m3 by January 2018. Gold Fields has over the years introduced a range of measures to improve monitoring and bring down the DPM exposure levels underground. These include the acquisition of vehicles and machines with more advanced engine technology as well as a new fuel supply contract – started in Q3 2014 – through which South Deep now receives only ultra-low sulphur content diesel (10ppm). This is having the desired impact – the 2015 350ug/m3 DPM OEL was only exceeded in 1.7% of samples last year compared with 4.5% in 2014 and 19.1% in 2011. The 2018 160ug/m3 OEM was exceeded in 11.2% of samples in 2015 compared with 25.8% in 2014 and 60.6% in 2011. South Deep is looking at accelerating the research into the fitment of diesel particulate filters to achieve further reductions.

In Ghana, the exposure levels and concentration of personal and area DPM samples obtained were insignificant, approximately 200% below the OEL. The DPM monitoring programme was therefore discontinued.

HIV/Aids
HIV/Aids management is integrated into Gold Fields' mainstream health services to improve worker participation and minimise stigmatisation. Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) takes place during regular employee health assessments. This has the added benefit of directly addressing the interaction of HIV/Aids with related health issues such as tuberculosis (TB) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Gold Fields' workforce in South Africa faces a particular risk of exposure to HIV/Aids, in a national context where an estimated 19% of adults (aged 15 to 49) live with the disease. Gold Fields is committed to lowering the HIV/Aids prevalence at South Deep, where 69 employees tested positive in 2015, compared with 54 in 2014. South Deep's integrated HIV/Aids, STI and TB strategy directly addresses interactions between these diseases. It has four key pillars:

  • Promotion: This includes regular publicity campaigns and condom distribution at all workplaces
  • Prevention: VCT is provided to all employees, contractors, their partners and family members on a confidential basis. In 2015, the mine’s VCT participation rate was around 17%
  • Treatment: Free Highly Active Anti-retroviral Treatment (HAART) is provided to HIV-infected employees through onsite, doctor-staffed clinics. In 2015, 50 employees joined the HAART programme (2014: 58). This takes the total number of active participants to 296 (2014: 262), with 480 cumulatively enrolled since the HAART programme began in 2004. Employees’ dependants can also receive HAART via the Company's medical aid schemes
  • Support: This includes doctor-based primary healthcare, psychological counselling and social services for all employees and contractors

In addition, and in recognition of the potentially close relationship between HIV/Aids in the workplace and local communities, South Deep supports a number of community-based HIV/ Aids projects.

In Ghana too, where the national HIV/Aids rate is around 1.5%, employees and contractors have access to a confidential VCT programme which employees receive free of charge. During the year, about 55% of employees of the Ghana operations underwent the VCT programme. Anyone testing positive is provided with free treatment in line with the government's national HIV treatment programme which supplies drugs free of charge. By year-end 2015 Ghana had 19 employees on HAART (2014:22). Gold Fields also implements community-based HIV/Aids programmes in Ghana, including awareness-raising (via radio and trained community health educators) and condom distribution.

Malaria
Our workforce in Ghana faces a high risk of exposure to Malaria and the Company has a comprehensive Malaria strategy in place, which incorporates education, prevention, prophylaxis and treatment. It also includes spraying accommodation (both on-mine and employee housing within the community), provision of mosquito repellent for workers, support for community health facilities and rapid diagnosis and treatment.

In 2015, 523 employees (2014: 681) tested positive for malaria after 3,104 (2015: 2,686) individuals were tested at both of our mines. None of the treated cases proved fatal. Employees and dependants who live in the mine villages have their houses sprayed as part of our Malaria Vector Control programme. Under this programme a total of 450 company housing units were sprayed in 2015.