Abstract:
The occupational health and safety of coal mine workers is one of the major occupational
challenges in the mining industry. Coal mine workers face the looming perils of potential falls of
volatile rocks, the ergonomic challenges caused by bending and lifting heavy objects in their daily
work, the challenges caused by inhaling coal mine dust which can cause coal workers'
pneumoconiosis (CWP) and a plethora of other hazards in both underground and open cast mines
on a daily basis. The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of coal
mineworkers pertaining to occupational health and safety at the Leeuwpan mine in Mpumalanga
province of South Africa. The study adopted a quantitative, cross sectional descriptive design.
Self-reported questionnaires with closed-ended questions were administered to the eligible
participants. The study targeted the 3200 coal mineworkers who were employed at the Leeuwpan
mine in Lephalale. A sample of 356 mineworkers was used as derived from Slovin’s formula and
data was collected over a period of 5 days at the Leeuwpan mine. Measures to ensure validity
and reliability were ensured and ethical considerations were observed. The Statistical Package
for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 was used to analyse the data. Results and
recommendations are based on the findings of the study.
