'It shocked us to the core': Fatalities rise at world's largest miner Glencore

Aspate of mining deaths at Glencore has "shocked the business to the core" and sparked determined efforts to improve safety, one of its top bosses told investors. There have been 16 fatalities at the Anglo-Swiss firm so far this year - up 23pc on 2018, and 77pc more than in 2017.

Peter Freyberg, the company's head of industrial assets, told investors gathered for an annual update that the firm is “still in a bad place” on safety.  The executive revealed he has personally visited affected mines six times this year, with another trip scheduled for next week. The majority of worker deaths occurred at the company’s African copper operations. Glencore provided no further information as to why this was the case. 

There had also been a significant number of fatalities at its zinc business, the company said. Mr Freyberg said: “We know it’s something we have to deal with, and we’re dealing with it."

Fatal mining accidents have broadly declined in the past few decades, thanks to technological improvements, stricter safety policies, and the shrinking number of people working in the industry. However, a disproportionate number of deaths still occur in developing countries, however, where regulators are less active and equipment can be less reliable.

Mr Freyberg said Glencore has brought in a significant team to oversee improvements in Zambia, where its record is particularly poor.

Situated in Africa’s so-called Copperbelt region, the country is home to a string of Glencore mines employing thousands of people. In February, three workers were killed in an underground fire at the company’s Mindola North Shaft in the Zambian city of Kitwe. Less than a month later, a further two workers died at the company’s South Ore Body Shaft in Zambia. Glencore did not provide any further details of what happened.

Mr Freyberg said that Glencore has made “big changes” to the management structure at its copper operations in the country. Accountability, training, working rosters, and contract operations within the business had all undergone a major review in the wake of the worker deaths, he said. Mr Freyberg added: “We’ve set [our copper mines] on a course to be successful."

Similarly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where as many as 36 illegal miners died in a copper mine owned by Glencore earlier this year, the chief executive said that he had brought in “new people on the ground there”. 

Glencore blamed some of the deaths on lawbreaking miners who were trespassing and “putting their lives at risk”. Mr Freyberg also announced additional resources to help Glencore “work through the problems we have there to make sure we understand…the hazards associated with the business”.

“Our African operations have seen very significant interventions,” he said, adding: “I’ve been six times this year, and senior management will continue to focus on those [operations] until they’re absolutely right.”

The company has 30 extra senior staff members working on its zinc operations to address the substantial issues that it is facing.  Mr Freyberg said that he will be travelling to Glencore’s zinc mines next week.

Additionally, he said that one person has died working in the company’s coal operations, and another death was in its alloys business. He did not specify where these miners died. He said: “We are going to eliminate these fatalities." 

Separately, 62-year-old billionaire Ivan Glasenberg talked during the presentation about how the "third generation" of Glencore’s leaders, including himself, should have all stepped down by 2020.

Declining to specify a date, the chief executive simply said “it could happen soon,” following the selection of a replacement.

Glencore has only changed leaders twice in its 45-year history.