Fifty-two miners have died in South Africa this year, already more than in all of 2025
The mining minister called it a "deeply concerning regression" after last year's record low of 41 deaths.
Johannesburg — Fifty-two people have died in South Africa's mines so far this year, already well above the total for the whole of 2025, Daily Maverick reports.
"We are at 52 fatals already this year," the mining minister, Gwede Mantashe, told the Joburg Mining Indaba on Thursday. He called it a "deeply concerning regression".
Last year's toll of 41 was the lowest on record. At the current rate, about 70 miners would die in 2026.
"Platinum and gold still kill too many people," Mantashe said.
The accidents
Five miners died in February in a mud rush at the Ekapa diamond mine in the Northern Cape.
In late July, Impala Platinum halted its Rustenburg operations, which employ 51,500 people, for what it called a safety reset after two fatal locomotive accidents within weeks of each other.
Investors are asking
Safety is also affecting how the industry is seen abroad. A senior executive at a major South African mining company told Daily Maverick that it was the main concern foreign investors raised during a recent overseas roadshow.
This report is based on reporting by Daily Maverick.
