Expert Interview with Christo de Klerk, Mines Rescue Services South Africa

Christo de Klerk, General Manager of Mines Rescue Services in South Africa, reports on the significance of deep mining on mines rescue during the IMRB Conference (October 2013, Canada). According to de Klerk, South Africa has the deepest mine worldwide with around at 4 kilometers depth. Currently, the mine operators prepare themselves to mine at 5 km depth. That brings on new challenges for miners and mines rescue teams - the established recue concepts have their limits and higher temperatures and longer distances need to be considered.
In South Africa, mines very often hire unskilled people to work underground so the safety devices they carry need to be easy to don and to operate. According to their escape strategy, it is important that a refuge chamber is available where they can wait for help in the case of emergency.
For generations, Christo de Klerk and his family have been passionate about mines rescue: "The passion to save lives but also the property of the mines."
The Dräger expert interview series also includes talks with Ian Cooper, Manager Health & Safety at Hudbay Minerals in Canada; Radoslaw Stach, Mining Area Manager at KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. in Poland and Wolfgang Roehl, Manager Statutory Accident Insurance at Central Mines Rescue Organization in Germany.
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