Mining unions: One life lost is one too many
Despite the improvement in mining fatalities for 2016, unions see no reason to celebrate.
The number of miners killed in South Africa's mines fell to a new record low of 73, from 77 in 2015.
Mining Minister Mosebenzi Zwane was pleased with the drop in numbers, but says the goal of zero fatalities remain.
Union Amcu's Gabriel Nkosi says in order to achieve this, injuries should be treated as seriously as fatalities.
Echoing these sentiments, the National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM) Peter Bailey says any life lost in this sector is on life too many.
"Everybody has a role to play, but most importantly, nobody sells their lives, or limbs, or lungs to the industry. What we sell is our labour. At the end of the day we want to be compensated to provide adequately and with dignity for our families," says Bailey.
Lily Mine inquiry
Zwane says an inquiry into the Lily Mine tragedy will get underway soon.
It is almost a year since the structural collapse at the Vantage Goldfields mine that saw three people being trapped underground.
On 5 February it will be exactly one year since the container Pretty Nkambule, Solomon Nyarenda and Yvonne Mnisi were working in plummeted about 8 metres into the earth.
Their bodies have not been recovered.
Zwane says he hope the inquiry will provide much neede closure.
"There are challenges that we are dealing with beside the inquiry where we need to ensure that we bring closure to this matter. We are dealing with those issues and we hope that we will be able to close this chapter, painful as it is, very soon," says Zwane.