From Daily Maverick · Ed Stoddard · · 2m
South Africa's mining deaths surge to 52 in 2026
Minister Gwede Mantashe warns of a deeply concerning regression in mine safety, with fatalities on track to nearly double last year's record low.
In brief
Minister Gwede Mantashe warns of a deeply concerning regression in mine safety, with fatalities on track to nearly double last year's record low. South Africa's mining deaths have reached fifty two in twenty twenty six, putting the industry on track for about seventy deaths this year, nearly double the twenty twenty…
Fifty two deaths already this year
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Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe told the Joburg Mining Indaba on Thursday that South Africa's mines face a deeply concerning regression in accidental deaths in twenty twenty six.
“We are at 52 fatals already this year”
Platinum and gold still kill too many
Mantashe said platinum and gold mining continue to cause the most deaths, though he did not provide a detailed breakdown of fatalities by commodity.
“Platinum and gold still kill too many people”
Last year was a record low
In twenty twenty five, South Africa recorded forty one accidental mining deaths, a calendar year record low that reflected vast improvements from the past when as many as eight hundred miners died in one year.
Deaths on track to nearly double
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If the current rate is maintained, registered South African mines will record about seventy mining deaths in twenty twenty six, approaching double last year's toll. These figures cover only the legal mining industry.
Five miners die in diamond mine mud rush
In February, five miners died in a mud rush at the Ekapa diamond mine in Northern Cape, one of several fatal incidents that have marked twenty twenty six.
Implats halts vast Rustenburg operations
In late July, Impala Platinum took the highly unusual step of proactively bringing its Rustenburg operations, which employ fifty one thousand five hundred people, to a temporary halt for a safety reset.
Two fatal locomotive accidents weeks apart
The stoppage followed two fatal accidents weeks apart involving underground locomotives equipped with sensors and other gadgets that should have prevented such incidents, underscoring that technological advances do not always deliver desired results.
Foreign investors demand better safety
A senior executive with a major South African mining company told Daily Maverick that on a recent roadshow overseas, the biggest concern expressed by foreign investors was safety in South African mines.
Unsafe industry deters investment and jobs
An unsafe industry with a rising death toll is a deterrent to investment and costs jobs and the wider economy in the long run. Mining CEOs are expected to make this setback a top priority.
The short version
South Africa's mining deaths have reached fifty two in twenty twenty six, putting the industry on track for about seventy deaths this year, nearly double the twenty twenty five record low of forty one.
