BUSINESS
“Females in the industry [as a strategy]
was brought into the industry very
quickly. The industry was not ready
for it: not in underground nor in
surface mining.
“If you look at female dynamics in
terms of PPE for instance, overall sizes
aren’t fit for purpose. You can’t really
fit a woman into a male overall,” she
says. Women had exposed portions of
their bodies because of the design, some
adjusted the PPE, which flawed the specs.
The same issue applies when a woman
falls pregnant and her stomach expands.
Van den Berg mentions shoes as another
uncomfortable issue faced by women:
these where large and heavy, and only in
the past few years have appropriate ladies’
14_QUARRY SA| JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
shoes become available.
She does admit that surface mining
operations have come a long way. “There
are so many suppliers it didn’t come
as an issue in that area. Regarding the
challenges linked to Zungu’s research,
four years down the line there has been
progress.”
Hygiene and security is another aspect
that is highlighted.
“Toilets are unisex in most cases. For
example, there is no place to dispose of
sanitary towels and this continues to be
an issue at most operations. Often in
underground operations, there are only
unisex portable toilets, with nowhere to
go, your whole shift women often walk
around with this thing [sanitary pad] on
them with nowhere to dispose of it. At
times they don’t always know when their
menstrual cycle will start and they’re
underground without sanitary pads. There
is a huge need for emergency sanitary
towel facilities,” Van den Berg suggests.
She says that rags or toilet paper (if they
are available) are used for that moment,
until women miners arrive home. “That
one is still a reality and is mentioned in
the 233 responses analysed.”
With toilet sanitation, underground
mines have portable units that are cleaned
with a strong chemicals and the question
asked is whether it can affect their health.
Regarding surface operations, responders
have requested soap dispensers and hand
drying facilities. Unisex toilets are still