he number of deaths at South African mines were down by more than one-third last year, official statistics showed on Friday.
he numbers of fatalities dropped to 51 from 81 a year earlier, a decline of 37 percent, the data showed.

“This is the lowest ever number of fatalities on record,” a government statement said.

Most of the deaths occurred in the gold and platinum mining sectors.

South African mines, among the deepest in the world, have had a notorious safety record in the past with the loss of around 200 lives a year in the previous century.