Cases of silicosis

The data below provides disclosure under the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicator LA7: Rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, and absenteeism, and number of work-related fatalities by region.

Silicosis is a disease characterised by lung fibrosis caused by the inhalation of particles containing respirable crystalline silica dust. It represents a risk in underground mining areas where there are high concentrations of quartz within the ore body. While the threat of silicosis persists in South Africa, efforts to eradicate the disease have largely been successful at the group’s operations in Brazil, as a result of the mechanisation of many processes, successful dust management programmes, intensive monitoring, and Brazilian legislation that limits the number of years that employees may work underground.

The following are the number of cases of silicosis submitted to the Medical Bureau for Occupational Diseases (MBOD) of South Africa in 2010.

Number of silicosis cases submitted to the MBOD (Right click on totals for graphing options and left click on country totals for breakdown by operation)

	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006
South Africa 459 409 442 462 387 Great Noligwa 153 137 180 207 168 Kopanang 158 126 143 152 103 Moab Khotsong 49 59 27 20 14 Mponeng 17 12 6 10 6 Savuka 4 8 8 – 12 Tau Lekoa 42 37 51 49 51 TauTona 18 16 13 11 17 Other* 18 14 14 13 16

* Refers to silicosis cases at service divisions in our South Africa region