South African Coal Mines resume Operations as Lockdown eases from 1 May

With the lockdown restrictions being partially eased in South Africa starting May, the country’s open cast mines are set to resume full operations while all other mines will operate at 50% capacity. The South African mining companies are setting up shared quarantine facilities for miners testing positive for COVID-19 and are discussing other ways to cope up with the pandemic.

Some of the preventive measures to be followed include screening of staff daily for Covid-19 symptoms, including a temperature assessment. All employees will have to wear cloth masks. Employers have to make sanitisers available or hand washing facilities with soap.

South Africa imposed a nationwide lockdown in the last week of March till 30 April in order to contain COVID-19 spread in the country. During the lockdown, only those mines supplying coal to state-owned utility Eskom were allowed to operate at full capacity as electricity is classified as an essential service under the country’s regulations.

While till 14 April mining operations of all the other companies were completely shut, post that few mines were allowed to operate at a 50% capacity, only after they obtained special permission from mining and energy minister Gwede Mantashe to operate at a higher production level.

Starting May only those sectors with a low rate of Covid-19 transmission and high economic or social value are being allowed to resume in the country. All businesses including mines are directed to maintain strict health and safety protocols, including disease surveillance, infection prevention and stringent social distancing measures where possible.

Coal mining industry which accounts to 8% of the country’s economic output suffered a huge setback with the halt in operations for just one month. Majority of mining giants such as Glencore, Anglo American, and South 32 have revised their coal production guidance for 2020. Now with lockdown and other trade restrictions being in place in major export destinations due to COVID-19, the outlook for South African coal exports also remains bleak in the near term.