ILO Convention 176 is key for the mining industry28 April, 2019Beyond the usual sound bites and press statements, there is a danger that the mining industry might have gone numb, unfeeling and almost unresponsive, to the avalanche of deaths in the mining industry. These sound bites and press statements, by governments and mining companies referencing both public and private policy statements seem at odds with the reality experienced by mine workers and society.
Living under the threat of bursting mining dams 10 April, 2019Barely 500 metres separates the first houses in the Rio do Peixe neighbourhood of Itabira and the fifth largest mining dam in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. “If anything happens to the dam, we won’t have time for anything. We have been told it is a matter of seconds. We are risking our lives by staying here. If I could I would leave here immediately,” says Claudinei Ferreira, a 32-year-old mechanic who has lived in this town of 120,000 inhabitants for five years.
Bodies of Pasta de Conchos victims may be recovered26 February, 2019Thirteen years on and the bodies of those killed in the Pasta de Conchos mine disaster may finally be recovered.
Calls for safety standards in artisanal mining as Zimbabwe’s flooded gold mines claim 28 lives21 February, 2019Eight artisanal miners were rescued last week while 28 died when Cricket and Silver Moon gold mines in Battlefields, 175km from Harare, flooded after heavy rains. More are missing and feared dead with heavy rains continuing to slow down rescue efforts.
What are tailings dams?13 February, 2019No one ever hears about tailings dams until they go wrong. But when they fail, the results can be catastrophic. So, as their numbers increase, what exactly are tailings dams and why should we be worried?
Vale must be held accountable for Brazilian dam disaster 28 January, 2019Vale must be held accountable, say global unions IndustriALL and Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) as hundreds are feared to have died as a result of a dam collapse at Brumadinho in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais on 25 January.
Global Diamond Network demands better conditions in the supply chain3 January, 2019The IndustriALL Global Union Diamond Network meeting 19-21 December in Johannesburg, South Africa, attended by 25 delegates from Belgium, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, India, South Africa and Zimbabwe resolved to improve working conditions in the diamond supply chain.
New Year brings fresh tragedy for Pakistan’s coal miners3 January, 2019IndustriALL’s campaign for safer mines in Pakistan continues into 2019 as four miners burnt to death and another miner was seriously injured in a methane blast at a coal mine in Baolochistan’s Dukki district on 2 January.
IndustriALL mourns 13 miners killed in Czech Republic21 December, 2018At least 13 miners have been killed and ten wounded in a methane explosion at the CSM coal mine in Karvina in the Czech Republic on 20 December.
Four workers killed at Neharia underground mine in India1 November, 2018Four workers were killed and one seriously injured in a mine accident on 25 October 2018 at Western Coalfields Limited’s (WCL) Neharia underground mine in the Pench region, Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh.
