Australasian Mine Safety is the leading voice for all key decision makers within Mining company's and major contractors. Delivering the latest industry news as it breaks.
Issue link: http://ebook.aprs.com.au/i/44685
Editor's letter More deaths haunt mining industry D The United Kingdom's mining industry is in mourning following the deaths of four miners in a Swansea Valley Mine. espite an extensive search and rescue operation, the miners died when Gleision Colliery, near the Welsh town of Pontardawe, fl ooded in September. Following the incident, Dr Anthony Hodge from the International Council on Mining and Metals, said more needed to be done to improve mine safety. "Right now, of all the things facing the mining industry whether it's management, the workers, organised labour, and government, there is a tremendous emphasis on developing a culture on safety," he told the BBC. "Yes, there's no question that more needs to be done. The ideal is zero harm and zero accidents. And yes, we have a ways to go before we get there." Back on our side of the world the mining industry in New Zealand is still grappling with the aftermath of last year's Pike River coal mine disaster, in which a massive underground explosion claimed the lives of 29 miners. A Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) is currently underway in a hope to discover answers to the questions left hanging, and in this edition of Australasian Mine Safety Journal we speak with New Zealand mine safety expert Dave Feickert about the RCI and his future outlook for the country's mine safety regulations and processes. You can read more coverage on page 6. There's no doubt that that innovations in mine safety help contribute to mining industry's longevity, and as such we always devote much of our magazine to showcasing such innovations – most being developed in our very own backyard! A very talented team including Kerstin Haustein, Dr Eleonora Widzyk-Capehart, Peter Wang, Dean Kirkwood and Ricky Prout are developeing risk management systems for decision support in underground coal mines. They say that many mining incidents could be predicted or even avoided if suffi cient information were available at the appropriate time and to the appropriate mine personnel, warning of the danger and the risks associated with particular condition and providing mitigation strategies. You can read all about it on page 66. Of course, implementing adequate safety training on your worksite is a must, especially when aiming to achieve zero harm, and as Cameron Dean reports on page 46, no matter what form the statutory frameworks take following the national harmonisation, implementing training requirements will continue to play an important role. Dr Patrick Glynn reports on proximity detection systems for mine site vehicles, and says there are intrinsic problems with all mine site vehicle drivers related to the reaction time of drivers. And, fi nally, Elliot Duff reports on CSIRO's recent development in SLAM technology and its impact on mine automation, and says that the performance and nature of this technology will rely upon the developments made in communications, logistics, human factors, geosensing, and fi eld robotics. Coming up later this month is the much-anticipated Sydney Safety Show, which will be held from 25 to 27 October at the Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park. Nigel Dique's report on page xx will tell you what's in store, and from the dazzling displays of mine safety innovation that are going to be on show, it's obvious why Australia has an enviable mine safety record. Mine managers and operators will most certainly benefi t from information about the new OHS legislation across State and Federal jurisdictions which will be presented at length during the show. Miners need to be prepared for changes to processes and procedures and for what and how information has to be recorded and reported. In our regular columns, Safety Dave Whitfi eld argues that while a Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is designed to enhance the risk management process on a worksite, it will never save a life on its own, and safety psychologist David Broadbent continues his journey toward an often ignored construct which is known as "risk tolerance". I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on any of the mine safety issues featured inside this edition, so please drop me a line at: editor@aprs. com.au or follow me on Twitter: @KathrynEdwards. Kathryn Edwards Editor 2 The Australasian Mine Safety Journal Spring 2011