Occupational safety and health

Key indicators

Safety

  • 25 employees lost their lives in work-related accidents at AngloGold Ashanti in 2005 (2004: 31*).
  • The group's Fatal Injury Frequency Rate (FIFR) was 0.14 per million man hours worked, which is a 26% improvement on the 2004 rate of 0.19. This performance is also an improvement of 64% on the FIFR of 0.39 achieved in 1998.
    • Of the employees who died, 17 were from the South African operations, which translates into an FIFR of 0.17 per million man hours, reflecting an improvement of 41% on the previous year’s rate of 0.29. This based on an average of 37.514 people at work in the South African Region (excluding employees not at work).
    • A further seven employees died at Obuasi mine in Ghana during the year. The FIFR in Ghana was 0.29 per million man hours worked.
    • One employee died at AngloGold Ashanti Minera??o in Brazil during the year. The FIFR in Brazil was 0.11 per million man-hours in 2005 (2004: 0.00).
  • The Cripple Creek and Victor (CC&V) mine in Colorado, USA has operated without a lost-time injury since November 2003.
  • The group's Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) in 2005 rose by 3% to 6.77 per million man hours from 6.56 the previous year, the first year-on-year increase since 1998. However, data still show a 53% improvement over the seven-year period since 1998 when the LTIFR was 14.52.
    • The LTIFR for the South Africa region (the largest employer in the group) was 10.02, up by 9.9% on the previous year.
    • The LTIFR in Ghana (the second largest employer in the group) was 2.89 per million man hours.
  • Kopanang mine was awarded the third Dick Fisher Global Safety Award for excellence in safety in 2005. The CC&V and Cerro Vanguardia mines were runners-up. CC&V was recognised for sustained safety and health achievement, while Cerro Vanguardia was also commended for its performance
  • Savuka mine won the South African Safety Shield Competition for 2005 for the second consecutive year. This followed an excellent performance in respect of the serious injury rate which was a 5% improvement on the best rate recorded in the last five years. This mine is amongst the deepest mines in the world.

* In the Report to Society 2004, 32 fatalities were recorded and reported by the company. The DME has since ruled that one of these deaths was not occupation-related and therefore this figure has been restated.

FIFR: 1998 to 2005
(per million hours worked)  Group
 
LTIFR: 1998 to 2005
(per million man hours)  Group
 
 
Number of fatal accidents 2005 - Group
 
 

Health and occupational environment

The following key indicators are reported for South Africa because the health threats presented in the occupational environment are greater in the South African operations as a consequence of deep-level mining operations (heat, dust and noise) and the incidence of HIV/AIDS and because detailed reporting on occupational disease is required in terms of the Mine Health and Safety Act. HIV/AIDS is addressed in the Regional Health Threats section of this report as is malaria, which is the primary health threat in the East and West African operations. Statistics on medical surveillance at all of the other AngloGold Ashanti operations may be found on the website.

  • 57,015 occupational medical surveillance examinations (initial, periodical, transfer and exit) were performed in the South Africa region during 2005 in accordance with the requirements of the Mine Health and Safety Act.
  • 175 new cases of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) were identified in South Africa during 2005, which is a rate of four per 1,000 employees. This is a decrease of 41% on the previous year's rate of seven per 1,000 employees.
  • 316 cases of occupational lung disease (OLD) were identified in South Africa during 2005, which is a rate of seven per 1,000 employees, a 1% decrease from the figure reported in 2004. HIV, silica exposure, TB and an ageing workforce all play a role in the incidence of OLD.
  • 1,043 new cases of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) were detected and treated during the year, which is a rate of 25 per 1,000 employees, down from a rate of 35 detected the previous year. This declining rate is pleasing in view of a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS amongst a silica-exposed workforce. It is estimated that over 85% of individuals detected with TB are HIV-positive.
  • Dust (silica) control on the South African mines continued to improve, although the agreed industry target, for which 95% of all individual samples must be below the legal limit of 0.1mg/m3 by 2008, has not yet been achieved. In 2005 the average silica dust concentration was 0.04mg/m3, with the 95th percentile and maximum concentrations at 0.13mg/m3 and 0.55mg/m3 respectively.
  • Stoping wet-bulb temperatures averaged 28.3°C for the fourth quarter, while development face wet-bulb temperatures averaged 28.3°C.
  • All rock drills have been muffled, thereby significantly reducing noise exposure during drilling. The aim is to reduce noise levels to below 100 dBA. Virtually all noisy fans underground have been silenced, with 48% of all fans converted to silent fans and 48% equipped with bolt-on silencers.
NIHL (new cases): 1998 to 2005
Rate per 1,000 employees South Africa
NIHL: 1998 to 2005
OLD (new cases): 1998 to 2005
Rate per 1,000 employees South Africa
Old(new cases): 1998 to 2005
TB (new cases): South Africa only
Rate per 1,000 employees
 TB (new cases): South Africa only
 

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Our opinion is based on a test of the reliability of the selected data by way of:

In relation to selected data marked with the PricewaterhouseCoopers icon, on which we have provided reasonable assurance:

  • conducting interviews and holding discussions with management, key personnel and/or stakeholders of AngloGold Ashanti limited and assessing data trends;
  • obtaining an understanding of the systems used to generate, aggregate and report the selected data;
  • conducting site visits to test systems and data and inspecting premises where necessary;
  • assessing the completeness and accuracy of the selected data; and
  • reviewing and analysing collected information and effecting re-calculations where considered appropriate.

Our Values & Business Principles
Report to Society 2005