The leading UK-listed mining companies have failed to bring down the number of fatalities at their operations over the past five years in spite of considerable efforts to do so. A Financial Times survey of five leading UK-listed mining groups – Rio Tinto, Vedanta, Anglo American, Xstrata and BHP Billiton – has found the number of fatalities has stayed the same since 2004. Anglo American is the only miner surveyed that has reduced fatality figures consistently, though its volume of deaths is the highest. Discounting Anglo…the companies recorded 23 deaths in 2004-05, while in 2008 this more than doubled to 54. Anglo reported 49 fatalities in 2005, but cut this figure to 27 in 2008…Anglo [said:] “We are deep-level mining, which is different to open cast, but we are doing our best to reduce fatalities.”…Kazakhmys…has a particularly bad safety record…Results on injuries are more promising.
See http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6aae95e2-0385-11df-a601-00144feabdc0.html?referrer_id=yahoofinance&ft_ref=yahoo1&segid=03058&nclick_check=1.