Anglo Platinum participated in the Bench Marks study, provided information to its researchers and is generally satisfied that the report is balanced and factual. However the accompanying news releases are not. These releases have resulted in sensational erroneous reporting.

Anglo Platinum has a constant and long-standing focus on improving health and safety at its mines.

Up to 1999, the focus was on ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Mine Health and Safety Act and a risk assessment process to ensure that all workers were aware of the hazard associated with their jobs. Since 1999, we have implemented a series of initiatives to improve our safety levels based on changing the behaviour of our employees. These have included the formalisation in 2001 of the Behaviour Based Safety initiative and the drive from 2005, as part of the Anglo American group, to ensure adherence to safety principles starting with the zero mindset – the belief that all injuries are preventable and that all are responsible. To date we have trained all senior line management, from the CEO to mine overseer level, and 3000 of our supervisory level staff in these principles.

The result of this safety focus was that in 2006 Anglo Platinum recorded the lowest fatality rate in its history – 18 fatalities, but only a fatal injury frequency rate (the number of fatalities per 200 000 hours worked) of 0.019. In addition the fatalities due to fall of ground decreased from 16 in 2004 to 5 in 2006.

The company’s safety statistics for the past three years are detailed in the 2006 annual report. These show the number of fatalities in our operations totalling 24 in 2004, 24 in 2005 and 18 in 2006, while increasing our employee numbers significantly. The fatal injury frequency rate was 0,03 in 2004, 0,03 in 2005 and 0,02 in 2006.

However, Anglo Platinum is not satisfied with its safety measures when any of its workers are killed or injured. We therefore instituted a dedicated programme at our Amandelbult operation, not far from the Rustenburg mine, where we are investigating ways to move to a zero injury operation. Lessons learned at Amandelbult will be extended to our other operations, and shared with the industry.

For the past 18 months the company has been implementing a programme aimed at producing a dramatic reduction – what we have called a step change – in the number of deaths and injuries at our operations. The safety improvement plan introduced in 2006 is a strategy with four main thrusts – behavioural solutions, technical solutions, labour solutions and re-resourcing the company’s safety and sustainable development function.

The focus on behavioural solutions includes training all management and supervisor levels in safety principles, starting with the zero mindset – the belief that all injuries and preventable and that all are responsible. Technical solutions has involved identifying technical and management system issues to support the step change, and the development and use of better technology, enhanced monitoring and safety enforcement.

The labour solutions focus is addressing labour management, performance and welfare, and is expected to improve morale, safety awareness and ultimately performance. Re-resourcing the safety and sustainable development (S&SD) function aims to strengthen the S&SD team and provide a centralised group-wide focus on safety aspects.

The improved safety performance of 2006 has continued in 2007, with the regrettable exception of the Rustenburg Lower mine between March and June this year. We have taken this head on, with the phased shaft closure for 7 days at a time at our largest operation, in order to ensure additional safety measures are implemented.

We are part of the Anglo American group, and part of the Anglo American drive for Zero Harm. We are a member of the Chamber of Mines and share the industry’s dedication to identifying barriers to improved safety and devising strategies to overcome them. The unprecedented 7-day suspension of underground operations at our Rustenburg mine in order to address safety concerns demonstrates these commitments.

The CEO, Ralph Havenstein, stated earlier this month when announcing this action that, in line with Anglo American’s core safety values, Anglo Platinum’s highest priority remains the safety of employees (including contract employees). He also stated that Anglo Platinum management has invested significant resources in implementing a comprehensive suite of safety standards and initiatives designed to deliver a sustainable step change improvement in safety performance.

In 2006 Anglo Platinum had 42 000 employees and a further 36 000 contracting staff. Anglo Platinum’s determination to introduce a step change in our safety performance, and our drive for Zero Harm, will involve this workforce – at all levels, including top management – in demonstrating the commitment to improving the group’s safety record. We do not believe this commitment is adequately reflected in the Bench Marks news releases.

The Bench Marks news releases also contain a number of factual errors:

• A news release refers incorrectly to an audit "done by Amplats mine’s health and safety inspectorate" in 1999. The audit would have been done not by the company but by the inspectorate of the Department of Minerals and Energy, as the Bench Marks report states. The error was featured in a headline and report in Business Report today. Anglo Platinum supplies the DME inspectorate with statistics, but has no record of receiving this audit.
• A Bench Marks news release on health risks refers, after a reference to platinum mines, to the number of workers suffering from silicosis. Platinum mines do not cause silicosis. These workers have come with pre-existing silicosis from other mines, and Anglo Platinum provides them with health care.

For further information, please contact:

Trevor Raymond
011 373 6638
082 654 8467