Managing trauma in the South African mining industry

Deep sub-surface mining is one of South Africa s leading industries. It is also one of the most dangerous. While safety is maintained as much as possible to minimize cave-ins and other accidents, underground tremors and earthquakes are commonplace and unpredictable and usually involve life threatening injuries and loss of life. Crisis intervention and trauma management are essential to helping workers cope with mining accidents. This article describes the trauma management program developed by the employee assistance program at the Chamber of Mines in South Africa to respond to workplace accidents.