On 3 April 2019, Exxaro’s Leeuwpan mine received two awards at the annual COALSAFE conference, hosted by the South African Colliery Managers’ Association (SACMA). The 24th COALSAFE conference themed ‘Making a positive difference’ was held at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg and attended by over 1000 delegates this year.

In the Environmental section, the Leeuwpan mine received an award in the Occupational Health and Hygiene Category (2) for compliance to the 2024 milestone criteria for silica as well as the best improvement to coal dust during the past two years.

Mandisa Masango, Occupational Hygiene Officer at Leeuwpan mine, explained: “We are very fortunate to have a team that is collaborative and highly responsive. The support by management and the positive response from employees in adopting control measures have made this achievement possible. We continuously assess our airborne pollutant risks and respond accordingly, and our source control measures implemented are also assessed on an ongoing basis for effectiveness.”

The second award was a Safety Achievers Award for the 24 661 fatality-free production shifts (FFPS) at the mine. Rakesh Mooni, Sustainability Manager at Leeuwpan mine, commented: “I am proud to be part of a mine that takes the health and safety of its employees seriously. Let’s keep this up and keep one another safe – always, all the way.”

“Safety is a way of life for the Leeuwpan team, and everyone looks out for one another. This is evident in the mine’s safety performance, which is currently operating fatality free for 29 years to date. The employees truly live our values of teamwork and honest responsibility,” said Musa Mabasa, Acting Business Unit Manager at Leeuwpan mine.