Mining Safety News

BHP Billiton’s Dendrobium Mine Innovation Won Safety Award

2013-05-23

BHP Billitonandrsquo;s Dendrobium Mine won the NSW Minerals Council Innovation Award for its modification of a gripper jaw valve bank handle on a JOY 12CM30 continuous miner. Below is an extract from BHPandrsquo;s nomination for the Awards.

In 2012 the Dendrobium Mine team became aware of an incident at another mine where an underground operator received a serious hand injury resulting in an amputated finger.

The operator unintentionally operated a gripper jaw control handle on bolting equipment, with one hand causing the gripper jaws to release 6m of drill steel weighing approximately 24kg.

The drill steel fell approximately 480mm and hit the operatorandrsquo;s other hand that he had placed over the roof bolter dolly in the line of fire.

To eliminate the risk of inadvertent operation of the gripper jaw function the team took an existing control valve assembly to a local engineering company with the aim of redesigning the gripper jaw valve handle so that an operator must deliberately engage a secondary action to move the lever from the neutral position.

To be successful, the ultimate solution had to easily fit existing ICM2 and future ICM3 valve banks on the fleet of JOY 12CM30 continuous miners.

Following the successful trial of the gripper jaw valve bank handle on a JOY 12CM30 continuous miner, Dendrobium mine approved the fabrication and fitting of the new design handle to all existing drill rigs.

An approximate cost for the gripper jaw valve handle assembly is $3,000 each and the total investment for the mine was $48,000, which is a modest sum considering the risk reduction achieved by the modifications.

The project has delivered safety benefits by requiring an operator to complete a secondary action to allow the control handle to move from the safe neutral position. This eliminates the risk of inadvertent operation of the hydraulic equipment.

Operators understand and value the safety improvement that gives them more protection from injury.
There have been no reports of damage to the new valve handles since their introduction late 2012.

The simple design of the assembly allows for easy installation to all ICM2 and ICM3 JOY 12CM30 drill rig valve banks, which are widely used in underground mines on continuous miners. This type of valve bank arrangement is also used on other equipment such as Boar Bolters.

The project team is currently in discussions with the local engineering company to make minor modifications, which will allow the control valve handle to be fitted to the JOY ICM3 valve bank.

As a result of the successful implementation of this project, Illawarra Coal will plan to adopt it at its other sites where similar risk exposures exist.

The project team believe that this innovative design could become the new industry standard for drill rig valve bank assembly control handles.

Source: theajmonline.com.au

Fatality at Harmony's Kusasalethu mine

2013-05-16

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (andbdquo;Harmony" or andbdquo;the Company") regrets to advise that an employee was fatally injured in a rail bound accident on 113 level at its Kusasalethu mine near Carletonville this morning.

Investigations into the accident are underway. All tramming operations on 113 level have been stopped.

Harmony's Chief Executive, Graham Briggs, and his management team wish to express their deepest condolences to the members of the deceased's family for the loss of their loved one.

Rescuers struggle to reach 25 trapped Indonesian mine workers

2013-05-15

Rescuers on Wednesday struggled to reach 25 people trapped in a collapsed mine tunnel in remote eastern Indonesia, as hundreds of angry workers protested to demand better safety.

Four dead bodies have so far been recovered and 10 people rescued following Tuesday's accident at US firm Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg, one of the world's biggest gold and copper mines in rugged Papua province.

Freeport Indonesia, the local subsidiary of the US firm, suspended all operations at Grasberg as anger grew among workers at the mine, which in recent years has suffered a major strike and a spate of deadly shootings.

Rescuers are finding it difficult to reach the Indonesian workers who were trapped by the collapse during a safety training course, as the site -- which is not part of the mining area -- remains unstable.

The 50-strong team, which includes Freeport and police personnel, were using heavy machinery including bulldozers, as well as saws, wheelbarrows and jacks to clear debris.

"They have been working non-stop night and day to get to the workers, but the process is tedious and time-consuming," said local police spokesman I Gde Sumerta Jaya.

"Each time they dig, there are small landslides, so they have to put wooden planks on the tunnel walls and roof to prevent rocks from falling."

Oxygen was being piped into the tunnel, which is cut into a mountainside, but it was impossible to know whether those inside were dead or alive, he added.

As the rescue efforts dragged on anger grew among workers, around 1,000 of whom staged a protest near the mine.

They blocked a road near their dorms with trucks, heavy machinery and pieces of wood from late afternoon, only allowing ambulances and other vehicles involved in the rescue effort to pass.

"This is for our colleagues who haven't yet been evacuated," miner Ronald Waromi, who coordinated the demonstration, told AFP. "We expect the company to pay more attention to safety and the welfare of its employees."

Mining accidents are common in Indonesia, but they normally happen in illegal and unregulated mines, not at sites run by large companies.

Neither Freeport nor police have said what might have caused the accident.

The company said that production was first partially suspended at Grasberg to help with evacuation and rescue efforts, but they later decided to halt operations entirely.

"We temporarily suspended operations," said Freeport Indonesia president Rozik B. Soetjipto, adding he was heading to the mine to decide himself whether production should be resumed.

The tunnel collapse is just the latest problem to hit the mine. In 2011, a three-month strike by thousands of workers crippled production and only ended when the firm agreed to a major pay rise.

The industrial action sparked a wave of deadly clashes between police and gunmen around the mine, with at least 11 people, all Indonesians, killed.

Earlier this month, some 1,100 workers employed by Freeport contractors staged a three-day strike over pay but it caused only minimal disruption to production.

bangkokpost.com

Workers’ safety is key, says Lonmin

2013-05-15

Johannesburg - The safety of people in Marikana is a priority, Lonminandrsquo;s platinum mine said on Tuesday night.

"The physical safety of everyone at Marikana remains our overriding priority and must take precedence over all other matters," the company's vice-president of mining, Mark Munroe, said in a statement issued from the companyandrsquo;s London offices.

"Embarking on unlawful and unprotected work stoppages puts lives and livelihoods at risk while families also suffer due to the loss of earnings."

The company said it was fully committed to achieving a fair and peaceful resolution of the dispute.

He urged all striking employees to return to work, and urged their representatives to continue meeting with management.

"We believe that through respectful dialogue between unions and management we will be able to resolve the issues that have been raised and maintain the excellent momentum that together we have achieved in the last six months."

Lonmin said it had met with unions earlier on Tuesday.

"The leadership of each union has assured Lonmin that they did not call for the work stoppage and therefore do not support it," the company said.

Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) members went on wildcat strike on Tuesday, demanding that the National Union of Mineworkers' offices be shut down. The union said NUM had lost its status as a majority union.

They marched earlier in the day through the dusty streets of Nkaneng from Wonderkop, the hill where 34 striking miners were shot dead by police on August 16, last year.

Lonmin confirmed operations were suspended in the morning because of the strike.

NUM regional co-ordinator Mxhasi Sithethi said the situation at the mine was tense.

"People are singing outside our office, demanding the closure of the NUM office."

The strikers marched to a local stadium where they were waving sticks in the direction where police vehicles were parked.

A high number of police officers were deployed to monitor the situation.

Three people, including Amcu regional organiser Mawethu Steven, were gunned down in Marikana at the weekend.

Steven was shot dead at a tavern in Photsaneng on Saturday.

Two brothers, Andile and Ayanda Menzi, were shot dead also in Nkaneng on Saturday.

Munroe said it did not permit or condone the carrying of firearms on company property.

"Anyone found guilty of this violation of company policy will be reported to the police and face disciplinary action," he said.

"We have investigated every allegation of firearms being in union offices and none of our searches have uncovered any weapons. Nevertheless, we have agreed to increase the number of random searches of offices and individuals." - Sapa

Hawks fight illegal mining on West Rand

2013-05-14

Abandoned mines in Roodepoort, on the West Rand, are being closed in an attempt to end illegal mining, the Hawks said.

Captain Paul Ramaloko said several shafts at Durban Deep mine were being closed on Tuesday morning by the police, working in conjunction with the SA Chamber of Mines.

"More than 100 individuals have been arrested recently for illegal mining in this area," said Ramaloko. "The area is seen as a hot spot for illegal mining," he said.

sowetanlive.co.za

Buildup of gas blamed in SW China mine blast

2013-05-13

Authorities say an explosion that killed 28 coal miners in southwest China was caused by a lack of ventilation that caused deadly gases to accumulate.

A state media report Monday points to continuing problems with supervision in China's mining industry, the worlds deadliest. The blast Saturday afternoon at Sichuan province's Yaozigou mine came less than 24 hours after an explosion in another coal mine in neighbouring Guizhou province killed 12 people.

The official China News Service cited officials as saying that work at Yaozigou was supposed to have been suspended while the mine underwent a technical upgrade that made it temporarily impossible to disperse flammable gases.

A total of 108 miners were working underground at the time of the deadly blast. Eighteen were reported injured, eight of them seriously. - Sapa-AP

Safety Target Missed Despite a Drop in Mine Deaths

2013-05-07

MINE safety statistics, expected to be released by Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu later this month, will show that, despite a marked improvement in combating mine fatalities, South Africa has failed to reach the targets it set itself a decade ago.

In 2003 the industry drew up a roadmap to achieve zero fatalities and injuries by 2013. This might sound unrealistic, but competitors in developed countries like the US, Australia and Canada get close to it.

There have been 29 fatalities so far this year. This is a 66% improvement on the 270 deaths of 2003, when the plan was first mooted, but still far short of the target.

The plans in 2003 included setting up the Mine Occupational Safety and Health team, focusing on the biggest risk areas andmdash; such as falls of ground, dust, noise and transportation. It also included setting up tripartite bodies including government, mining companies and labour to discuss ways to improve safety.

Leigh McMaster, head of health and safety at trade union Solidarity, said there has been improvement in ground support, leadership and entry examinations.

But one of the problems preventing the industry from reaching the zero-fatality target is the lack of enforcement by the Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate.

Ms McMaster said that while the inspectorate has improved there have been cases where it has issued section 54 instructions without justification.

"Many of these examples could possibly be attributed to a lack of standards across the regions of the inspectorate, incompetence in some cases and a lack of capacity. It has, however, played a pivotal role in accelerating safety improvement in the industry," he said.

Mining is the only industry in which safety is policed by a dedicated inspectorate. In other sectors, the job is done by the Department of Labour, which often fails to enforce regulations.

Ms McMaster emphasised that mining is the only industry in South Africa that has embraced safety as the "primary value and imperative" for sustainable business.

It is also the only industry that has structures and processes to accelerate safety transformation, he said.

Harmony Gold safety executive Alwyn Pretorius said: "Harmony has embarked on a culture alignment process with safety as our main priority."

Mr Pretorius said that in the last 15 months Harmony has not had a fall of ground fatality in South Africa.

Lonmin executive vice-president Mark Munroe said there has been a dramatic improvement in collaboration between unions and mining companies over the past five years.

A key to success has been changing a culture of regarding some fatalities as acceptable.

Ms McMaster said "the culture transformation framework for the mining industry is expected to be the catalyst for change over the next couple of years".

"The forum addresses critical areas such as leadership, risk management and investigations, incentives, the implementation of leading practice and the elimination of discrimination," he said.

Source: bdlive.co.za

Mpumalanga province top in South Africa coal safety standards

2013-05-07

The Mpumalanga provinceandrsquo;s coal mining sector in South Africa has safety standards which are comparable to the safest mining countries in the world, according to the South African Chamber of Mines.

The Chamber's head of safety and sustainable development, Sieste van der Woude, told African Eye News Service that the province's safety standards were as good as those in the United States, reports Fin24.

"The Chief Inspector of Mines has indicated that coal mining safety in Mpumalanga has reached levels comparable to the United States. This is a remarkable achievement," said Van der Woude.

She said that total mining deaths in South Africa in 2012 numbered 110, a 9% decrease from 128 deaths in 2011. "Of the total fatalities for 2012, 18 occurred in coal mines. The United States had 19 fatalities in coal mines for the same period," he stated.

Van der Woude added that so far this year 33 fatalities had been recorded in South Africa, dropping from 39 recorded in the same period last year. "Through a number of initiatives, we have managed to consistently bring fatalities down year on year."

In 2003, the Mine Health and Safety Tripartite Leadership was formed between labour unions, government and mining companies. The alliance agreed on a "zero harm" initiative with the goal of reducing fatalities.

"We set out to achieve this objective by the year 2013. We are not quite there as a whole, but Mpumalanga province has now reached this target," Van der Woude said.

According to statistics released by the department of mineral resources, 270 mining accident fatalities were recorded nationally for 2003, more than double last yearandrsquo;s toll."Various initiatives undertaken by the tripartite collaboration have contributed to this decrease.

"The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Representative Development Project was established in 2008 to train 40,000 health and safety representatives, while an action plan was developed to strengthen the mining safety culture, leadership and ownership," said Van der Woude.

The OHS project was given a budget of R54 million per year for five years for this purpose, while a Mine Inspector Training Project was also established to identify and implement training courses for mine inspectors.

Van der Woude said that the main cause of fatalities had shifted from falls or ground accidents to transport-related deaths.

"Mining safety underground, which has traditionally been the biggest contributor to deaths, has improved substantially, and now the industry needs to focus on preventing transport related deaths."

Source: Fin24.

100 die in Darfur mine disaster, rescuers trapped

2013-05-03

Khartoum andndash; At least 100 miners are estimated to have died inside a collapsed gold mine in Sudan's Darfur region and nine rescuers trying to free dozens of workers are now trapped, a miner said on Friday.

"Nine of the rescue team disappeared when the land collapsed around them yesterday [Thursday]," said the miner, who had visited the scene and asked to remain anonymous.

- AFP

More than 60 killed in gold mine collapse in Sudan's Darfur

2013-05-02

More than 60 miners were killed this week in Sudan's Darfur region when the gold mine they were working in collapsed, a police spokesman said on Thursday.

Ahmed Amr said the collapse happened in the Jebel Amir area of North Darfur. A member of parliament from the area said it happened on Monday, but word had only reached Khartoum on Thursday.

(Reporting By Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Reuters