Is gold mining getting safer with time?
Safety and health are key priorities for gold mining companies. There have
been a great number of initiatives aimed at improving safety – too many
too mention here. These initiatives have focused on 2 primary areas:
those of technical / managerial systems, and those aimed at changing unsafe
behaviours. Below are a few examples:
Technical / Managerial Systems Innovation
- An innovation of geotechnical risk management systems. In open pit
mines, risk assessments can be carried out taking account of a number of
elements such as water table management, blasting considerations, pit evacuation
methods, high wall monitoring etc. Following the assessment, life of mine
plans can be optimized to extract the maximum amount of ore, with the minimum
waste possible, at tolerable factors of safety.
- Some ultra deep level mines in South Africa are at close to 4000m and are
seismically active (i.e. they are susceptible to underground earthquakes). Accordingly
extensive seismic monitoring networks have been introduced encompassing some
of the most sophisticated technical systems to monitor rock mass behaviour,
and to provide data for a seismicity management system. Such Fall of
Ground Management system’s have a number of elements: Firstly,
data from the seismic monitoring system is compared with mining plans, and
these plans can be modified to reduce the magnitude and frequency of seismic
activity. This can be called prevention. Secondly, the protection
element of the system. For example, Adaptions can be made to the rock
support density and type, to protect workers from the damaging effects of
seismic activity, or attempt to induce activity when working places are not
occupied such as during blasting time (i.e. bring on a mini quake when it
is safe to do so). Lastly, some mines train workers to identify hazards,
and the importance of adhering to safe working procedures is supported by
a “traffic light” system, where working places are classified
on a daily basis as to the risk of seismic activity.
- Another innovation employed at some open-pit operations is automated dispatching
systems used to manage the heavy equipment fleet. These satellite linked
management systems are implemented to optimize mining productivity, but as
productive working methods are conducive to safe working methods, there are
major safety benefits. For example heavy equipment movement is automatically
scheduled so that vehicle proximity can be maximized. Rest breaks can
be scheduled at no productivity loss to reduce the incidence of one of the
major hazards in open-pit mining – that of operator fatigue.
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