Regrettably, 12 employees have lost their lives at Platinum’s managed operations in the year to date. While there has been a notable improvement in the safety performance over the past four years, Amplats remains concerned about the number of fatalities in 2011.

To commence the Amplats safety awareness campaign, Chief Executive of Anglo American Cynthia Carroll and CEO of Amplats Neville Nicolau will address Amplats employees at venues in the Limpopo and North West Provinces. As a gesture of solidarty, all Anglo American operations globally will observe a minute of silence in remembrance of their colleagues who have lost their lives.

This day will mark the start of a wide-reaching employee safety ‘hearts and minds’ programme in Amplats “Real Safety Begins with Me”. The programme aims to help employees take shared responsibility for their own safety and that of their colleagues. It will further provide employees with the skills, tools and support they need to put safety at the heart of what they do on a daily basis.
Commenting on the Amplats safety record, Cynthia Carroll, CEO of Anglo American, said: “I am deeply saddened by the unacceptable loss of lives in our operations. I believe Zero Harm is achievable, and today I am here to plead with all of our employees to rigorously maintain our relentless focus on safety. At Amplats, safety is always our priority, and we can and must do more to ensure the safety of all our employees. I am not prepared to accept that we cannot achieve Zero Harm and I expect all Amplats employees to play their part”.

Neville Nicolau, CEO of Amplats, said: “Visible Felt Leadership and employee engagement are critical components of our safety programme aimed at ensuring Zero Harm. As we pay our respects to our deceased colleagues, today also marks the start of a programme towards making Zero Harm possible. Each employee is asked to pledge and recognise that Real Safety Begins with each one of us”.