a woman in mining

Where did it all start for you?

I started in mining with the intention to provide for my family and my kids but I have since been championing women in mining matters in the South African mining industry. I am originally from the Northern Cape in Manyeding.

I started my career in 2000 in Rustenburg where I found a job at Lonmin Mine as the Assistant Sampler. I was one of the women who went underground as most women were working on surface and I saw that as an opportunity and I was also exposed to many careers within mining in my journey.

During my career in mining I was promoted into different roles and I worked hard in each role I was assigned. In 2007, I yearned for more and I was later appointed as a Learner Production Supervisor and received a Blasting certificate as well as the Shift Supervisor Certificate, I later enrolled for the Mine Manager’s certificate which I am yet to complete.

My Manager saw potential in me and wanted to appoint me as shaft production officer so that I can coach other mineworkers. I was appointed as a Senior Grade Officer and trained other women and showed them the ropes. I wanted to share the knowledge as my other passion lies in coaching.

There are times where I had to leave my house early in the morning, leaving my children alone and that was not nice. There are times where I had to be at the mine at 04h00 in the morning and by the time I got home I was tired.

The work underground was also hard and the systems were not accommodative for women and physical strength was a challenge in some of the work we had to do. I still believe that this may be the case even now where women are experiencing challenges in various ways.

In those conditions I persevered as there was work to be done and I did not want to drop the team. Some women would fall pregnant in order to take a break from the physical work underground and some did not want to go underground at the end of their maternity leave. Women at the lower level are having it hard underground.

When I was working underground as a mineworker I did not go underground as a woman. I was a young woman who wanted to provide for my family and complied and I dressed appropriately. I am aware that there is sexual harassment and trading work for sexual favours but I never faced that in my space.

Another challenge I encountered was not having toilets and my colleagues who were male and whom I trusted would actually accompany me to relieve myself.

Yes, women are taking up space in the mining industry but I am still not sure whether women are being provided for the way they should be. I would like to see women coming together and taking care of health and safety matters. Health and safety should not be politicized as these are serious matters that affect women in the mining sector.

If we politicize these matters, we may lose the core of what needs to be done. Yes, I can see that the industry is changing and there should be more opportunities for women to reflect that change.

There can be awareness campaigns but matters need to be take into practical levels so that we can see implementation and action. A question we need to ask ourselves is “are we getting there with all these changes?” and only time will tell.

The history of silicosis in South Africa dates from the late 1880s when gold mining began. The gold was locked in quartz veins, a type of rock that also contains high concentrations of silica. Crystalised silica particles can cause significant respiratory damage if inhaled. In the earlier days of gold mining, dust control, the use of personal protective equipment, and health and safety standards were not as advanced as they are today.

Silicosis began to manifest amongst the mining workforce very early in the history of gold mining on the Witwatersrand.

South Africa, in 1911, became the first country to formally legislate for the compensation of those workers diagnosed with silicosis – and certain other lung diseases designated as occupational diseases. Given the highly racialized nature of the country, white mineworkers benefited disproportionately from the system.

This remained the status quo until 1993 when the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act (ODMWA) was deracialized and black mineworkers suffering from occupational lung diseases became entitled to the same levels of compensation as their white peers. Although some mechanisms were put in place to compensate mineworkers, particularly through the Medical Bureau of Occupational Diseases (MBOD), the systems have not served ex-mineworkers effectively.

The Tshiamiso Trust is the outcome of a class action suit, deemed to be the largest and most complex class action in South Africa’s history, brought against six mining companies, namely Anglo American, African Rainbow Minerals, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony, and Sibanye Stillwater. The Trust was established through a no-fault settlement agreement which, through the associated Trust Deed, provides for the payment of claims to eligible gold mineworkers.

The Tshiamiso Trust was constituted in February 2020 and has a lifespan of 12 years.

The purpose of the Tshiamiso Trust is to make the intentions and terms of the historic silicosis and TB settlement agreement a reality for the people it affects. The Trust will use all reasonable means to ensure that eligible claimants receive the compensation that is due to them, and will seek to leave a positive legacy, in cooperation with the Compensation Commissioner for Occupational Diseases and the mining industry, by improving systems and processes that give eligible mineworkers quick and easy access to the benefit systems that they need.

The Trust Deed is very specific about who might be eligible for compensation from the Tshiamiso Trust. Broadly speaking, it specifies that the mineworker must have:

• Carried out risk work at one of the qualifying

GOLD mines during the qualifying period between 12 March 1965 and 10 December 2019 (bearing in mind that some mines changed ownership during that time and are only considered during the periods that they were owned by the participating mining companies) AND

• For living mineworkers they must have permanent lung damage from silicosis or TB that they contracted from doing risk work at these mines

• For deceased mineworkers, there must either be evidence that they died FROM TB within in year of leaving the mine (if it’s a TB claim and the mineworker died before 10 December 2019), OR evidence that they had silicosis or died from silicosis if it’s a silicosis claim.

The approach adopted by the Trust is to establish a network of service providers throughout all geographic areas with a significant concentration of claimants. The Trust invites claimants to check their eligibility through the call centre and thereafter lodge claims at one of the lodgement sites (either fixed or mobile).

If a Benefit Medical Examinations (BME) is required, those will be provided in locations close to their home through service providers. The remainder of the processing steps applicable to every claim (communication, who might be eligible for compensation from the Tshiamiso Trust. mineworker must have: