The new national health and safety standards for mining and quarry operations are expected to reduce mine deaths and increase mineral productivity, the Director-General of Rwanda Standards Board (RSB), Raymond Murenzi, told The New Times in an exclusive interview.

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Mining is still ranked high amongst the formal economy sectors with leading fatality rates in many countries.

In Rwanda, Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) statistics show that there was an increase in the number of occupational injuries from 754 in 2017/2018 to 1,467 in 2023.

As a result, the compensation paid has doubled within a period of five years.

Mine accidents have killed at least 429 people while 272 were injured in a period of five years.

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Mining companies also need to enforce safety measures for mine workers so as to curb respiratory diseases such silicosis, a type of lung disease caused by breathing in tiny bits of silica, a common mineral found in sand, quartz and many other types of rock.

The standards to address these challenges, he said, were developed from 2022 to 2024.

"Most of the requirements are looking at the health and safety of the miners. One of the challenges facing the mining sector is safety. We have seen loss of lives and we believe that with these standards in place, it will resolve a lot of challenges that we are facing in the same sector because when you look at the safety requirements it was like every mining company was having its own way of mining. So, now, at national level we have developed standards,” he explained.

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Murenzi said there is a need to move from rudimentary practices to modern practices in the mining sector to improve safety and productivity.

"These standards are bringing modernity to the mining sector. Some investments might be required to make sure that people are safe. We don't have to lose lives. We have to make sure that they have protective equipment which can really protect people. So, some investment might be required.”

Stringent measures under the new standards

"We can talk about the size of the tunnels. In the same standards we are talking about ventilation, we are talking about air quality, we are talking about devices that can indicate to someone who is mining that the level of air is clear and is enough to make sure that he can breathe,” Murenzi said.

He added that timbering techniques in mining also need to be reviewed.

Setting up timber in mine sites supports the roof or face of the tunnel during excavation to avoid mine collapse. Under the new standards timber will be replaced by concrete

"As we move from traditional mining to professional mining. We are only encouraging people who have resources to use concrete although timbering is also allowed in some cases. Another requirement is to ensure machinery being used in mining is not producing emissions that pollute mine sites.

The other requirement is about ensuring productivity because by using rudimentary practices, we are losing production. 40 per cent of mineral production is lost,” he added.

Murenzi said the developed standards are divided into five parts.

The first one is looking at quarrying and mining code of practice, the second one is addressing requirements for open and surface mining, the third one is covering underground mining requirements while the fourth one covers blasting requirements and the fifth one covers general requirements.

"Rwanda has a strategic orientation when it comes to the mining sector. The strategic orientation is managed by one mining bond. In collaboration with the mining board, we found that there are some gaps that the mining sector is encountering. One of the gaps was not having enough mining standards when it comes to safety, health and machinery being used in the sector,” he said.

Murenzi added that the government will soon launch an awareness campaign countrywide to make sure that the standards are known by every company in the mining sector.

"We need to encourage those companies to uptake those standards and then enforcement will follow.”

The new standards follow a report by the Rwanda Extractive Industry Workers Union (REWU) which, in 2023, assessed factors and causes leading to poor occupational safety, health, and working conditions in the mining sector.

It revealed that out of 13 types of hazards assessed, six of them, equivalent to 46 per cent, have a high level of risk, and seven of them, equivalent to 54 per cent, have a medium level of risk.

The report shows that the types of hazards with high levels of risk that need special attention include falling rocks at the working surface, landslides, tripping and slipping, heavy loads, awkward working positions, working under pressure, dust, noise, and darkness.

It also warned that repeated or prolonged exposure to excessive noise levels will lead to hearing impairment. Heat stress was named among the hazards.