Mine safety programme widens reach
The Chamber of Mines wants its newly launched Health and Safety Conference to become a platform that reaches beyond its membership, extending safety knowledge and best practices to emerging miners, artisanal miners and non-member mining operations.
The initiative comes amid concerns that while Chamber member companies have made significant progress in improving safety performance, fatal incidents outside the organisation show the need for stronger collaboration across Namibia’s wider mining industry.
Introduced this year under the theme “Safety for a Resilient Tomorrow”, the inaugural Health and Safety Conference forms part of the annual Mining Expo and Conference. It is intended to become a permanent forum bringing together mining companies, regulators, technical experts and safety professionals.
Namibia has about 1,078 registered mining claims, according to the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy, while between 5,000 and 8,000 people are estimated to be involved in small-scale mining activities.
Through its Small Scale Mining Division, the ministry provides technical support, training, laboratory services, mineral rights administration and assistance to cooperatives as part of efforts to formalise the sector.
The Chamber says expanding participation in its safety platform could allow smaller operators to benefit from the experience and safety systems developed by established mining companies.
Barcelona Tsauses, chairperson of the Chamber’s Health and Safety Committee and executive vice-president of Sinomine Tsumeb Smelter, said the organisation had already started sharing its expertise with non-member operations.
She said industry statistics since 2020 showed that Namibia’s mining sector had recorded five fatalities, with four occurring at non-Chamber operations.
“What we have done over the past few years is that we’ve worked with the Chief Inspector of Mines and we’ve actually offered our services as a Health and Safety Committee, where we’ve gone to non-Chamber sites as a committee to evaluate their safety management systems, their safety management practices, and to offer advice to them as well,” Tsauses said.
She said the Chamber wanted to expand those efforts through its annual safety conference.
“We hope to see even the non-Chamber sites, the emerging miners, the artisanal miners, to come and listen and to learn with us as we go throughout this day,” she said.
The issue was raised during a discussion session by Precious Gowases, Health and Safety Superintendent at Navachab Gold Mine, who questioned whether established mining companies could do more to influence safety performance across the industry.
Earlier, Chamber of Mines president George Botshiwe said improving safety standards was a responsibility shared by the entire mining sector.
Botshiwe said Chamber member companies had achieved several fatality-free years since 2004 through strong leadership, disciplined operational practices and embedded safety cultures.
However, he warned that fatal incidents at non-Chamber operations during 2025 and 2026 showed that more work was needed.
“Although these incidents did not occur at Chamber member operations, every loss of life resonates throughout the mining sector,” Botshiwe said.
He said the Chamber’s Health and Safety Committee, working with the Office of the Chief Inspector of Mines, reviewed serious incidents across the industry to identify lessons that could be shared.
“By fostering this culture of learning and continuous improvement, the committee helps strengthen safety systems and reinforces the principle that safeguarding lives is a responsibility shared by the entire mining community,” he said.
The Chamber said it intends the Health and Safety Conference to become an annual platform where industry stakeholders can exchange knowledge and work towards achieving zero harm across Namibia’s mining sector.
