Global resource giant Anglo American plans to work with government and labour to eliminate mine fatalities, it said on Tuesday.

"Nowhere in the world has there been a sustainable breakthrough in safety performance without long-term commitment by government, labour and industry," said Anglo American's CEO Cynthia Carroll at the launch of the Anglo Tripartite Safety Summit.

The summit, organised by Anglo American with the National Union of Mineworkers (Num) and the Department of Minerals and Energy, seeks to discuss safety issues in mines and eventually create ways to eliminate fatalities.

The summit's declaration will be released later in the day.

"We want to thank Anglo American by taking such a step in acknowledging that there are problems within its operations," said Senzeni Zokwana, Num's president.

Last year, a total of 40 people were killed across Anglo American's operations globally, with 32 of these deaths in South Africa. So far this year, a total of nine people have been killed in Anglo's global operations - eight were in South Africa - compared with 17 fatalities during the same time last year.

Although, Carroll was pleased with the safety improvement, she admitted that that number of deaths was "still shockingly high".

"The health and safety of out mineworkers is a collective responsibility of all the stakeholders. However, the primary responsibility for ensuring an environment conducive to good health and safety at the workplace remains the obligation of the employer," said Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica.

Sonjica expressed concerns that there were still fatalities in mines despite extensive regulations regarding safety and health.

"I am concerned that after 10 years of the Mine Health and Safety Act there are still different interpretations of what constitute risk assessment," she said.

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