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Safety and health
The health and safety of our employees is our first priority and our primary objective is to operate the business free of injury and harm.
Safety
Our safety strategy is aligned to leading practice in global safety standards and systems and is fully owned and executed by the executive and operational leadership teams.
We believe that a safe environment is the outcome of a well-executed tactical, operational process and support this principle with the following focus areas:
- Complying with applicable laws, regulations and the voluntary commitments we have adopted
- Fostering a strong safety and health culture by providing effective and accountable leadership
- Continually improving occupational safety and health performance and management systems
- Striving to establish and maintain workplaces that are free from injury and harm
- Seeking to ensure that we have competent and capable people in roles, fit-for-purpose equipment, appropriate systems and procedures
- Proactively identifying, assessing and mitigating employee and contractor safety and health risks and opportunities
- Mitigating the community safety and health risks associated with our operations
- Adopting a stakeholder-inclusive philosophy by applying a consultative, participative and constructive approach in interaction with stakeholders
- Making our Health, Safety and Security Policy, related objectives and targets available to employees, contractors and other relevant stakeholders
- Using good-quality data, research and employee feedback in order to make informed, data-driven decisions and continually improve performance
All operating entities are ISO 45001:2018 certified.
For further information, refer to the 2022 <SR>: Ensuring the health, safety and security of employees, contractors and communities
Policies and standards
- Group Policy: Health, Safety and Security English, pdf Español, pdf Português, pdf Français, pdf
- Group standard: Major Hazard Management English, pdf
- ICMM Health and Safety Performance Indicators English, pdf
- Occupational Injuries Data Definitions and Statistical Reporting Procedure English, pdf
Employee, contractor and community health
Our aspiration remains to create healthy workplaces, healthy employees and healthy communities.
Our approach is driven by the interdependence between these – it is informed by the occupational environment as well as social determinants of health that lie beyond the mine fence.
Internally, key health issues facing the company include exposure to occupational hazards and the development of diseases such as silicosis, tuberculosis and noise induced hearing loss. We focus on prevention both in the short and long term by reducing harmful workplace exposures, optimising employee fitness for work and general wellbeing.
Contributing to improving community health involves strengthening local health systems for sustainability, as well as working in partnership with governments and other stakeholders to address specific health challenges.
For further information, refer to the 2022 <SR>: Ensuring the health, safety and security of employees, contractors and communities
Silicosis & TB class action settlement
In 2019, AngloGold Ashanti was part of a historic settlement. This settlement not only brought to a close a silicosis class suit by a number of attorneys acting on behalf of former mineworkers, it also sought to address certain shortcomings in the state-run compensation system.
On 10 December 2019, the agreement became unconditional with the delivery of the audited report of the optout process. Only three individuals chose to opt-out, confirming the near unanimous approval of the settlement agreement.
The Tshiamiso Trust started to make its first payouts in July 2021, and will continue to implement the agreement over the next 13 years.
For further information, refer to www.tshiamisotrust.com and www.oldcollab.co.za
Related stories
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Iduapriem has introduced a successful fatigue management system to limit the health and safety risks related to fatigue. Called Smart, the system has shown an 18% increase in alertness levels among employees over a 12-month period. This improvement was seen at all hours of the day, with the most significant increase evident during the night shift.
Anglogold Ashanti Ghana promotes health in the community
In 2021, AngloGold Ashanti held a health outreach day in the Binsere community near its Obuasi mine. The outreach day was a collaboration between AngloGold Ashanti, the AngloGold Ashanti Health Foundation and the Obuasi Municipal District and the Obuasi East District Health Directorates.
Australia understands how healthy minds lead to healthy mines
As part of its well-being strategy, AngloGold Ashanti Australia partnered with Strong Minds Strong Mines (SMSM) to provide a range of well-being initiatives for all Australia region employees in 2021.
Health work goes beyond the mine fence
We know that health risk is broader than the workplace and a significant proportion of determinants of health lie beyond the mine fence. Vice President: Group Health, Dr Bafedile Chauke-Moagi outlines AngloGold Ashanti’s responsibility to protecting public health.
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In 2020, AngloGold Ashanti rolled out a $6 million autonomous drill fleet at Tropicana mine. It’s an industry first for hard rock mining and is making working practices safer and increasing operating efficiencies.
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AngloGold Ashanti’s Tropicana gold mine in Australia rolled out a programme based on improving health, safety and productivity outcomes by identifying and supporting people with sleep disorders.