Australian Mine Safety Journal is digital publication on mining industry

A recent decision by the Fair Work Commission to not reinstate a worker after he was sacked for taking Nurofen Plus on the job has shone a light on the need for employee compliance with direction, effective and concise drug and alcohol policies and reasonableness when it comes to over the counter medications In the case of Guorgi vs Transdev, Transdev alleged that Mr Guorgi, a Compliance Co-ordinator, failed to notify Transdev that he was taking Nurofen Plus, failed to report the use by not providing a medication declaration form to his Manager and failed to comply with the Drug and Alcohol Testing Procedure in relation to a saliva test. Additionally, Transdev considered that Mr Guorgi failed to appreciate the seriousness of these allegations or to acknowledge any error was of particular concern given his role of Compliance Coordinator. He was terminated on the basis of a breach of the Transdev Queensland drug and alcohol policy Mr Guorgi’s case to the Fair Work...

Australian miners can avert catastrophic tailings dam collapses by using intelligence generated from satellite imagery and advanced processing techniques to monitor mine sites, thanks to a ground-breaking intelligence tool launched by start-up Otus. Based at the Element 8 Incubator & Accelerator in Sydney Olympic Park,   Otus uses satellite imagery to analyse and monitor a range of metrics, such as surface movement, and identify potential issues as they develop. There are hundreds of tailings dams across Australia, many of which are close to critical infrastructures and communities. In Western Australia alone, there are 800 tailings dams of which more than 130 were built in a similar way to those that recently caused catastrophic failures. Yet, surveillance and regulations are limited. For example, in NSW, operators are only required to provide surveillance reports to the NSW Dams Safety Committee on the integrity of tailings dams every five yea...

The New Zealand Government have announced a re-entry date for the Pike River mine. New Zealand Pike River Re-entry Minister Andrew Little says that the 30metre seal will be broken on May 3rd and re-entry wou ld begin from that point. The event will be marked on New Zealand’s West Coast attended by Minister Little, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. Little said there had already been a huge amount of work already done to prepare for re-entry. “This has included preparing bridges for heavy loads, installing a nitrogen plant, upgrading the power supply, laying many kilometres of piping for the nitrogen, drilling more boreholes, installing monitoring equipment, and purging and ventilating the drift.” Little said “The science and engineering that goes into this project, it’s pretty impressive. Once the 30-metre seal is breached, then the re-entry and recovery operation can begin. All things going to the current plan, the [ Pike R...

OPINION  There is no doubt that there are some safety challenges facing the mining industry in Australia. While it’s clear that there are pockets of excellence with some outstanding initiatives being undertaken by individuals, unions, governments and companies alike, there are also many challenges being faced by parties to realise their own safety goals. As we begin in 2019, it’s a great time to ask ourselves, have we finally reached our safety destination or are we still on the journey ? Over the last three-four months the Australian mining industry has seen a major train wreck, a mine catch fire, a driver killed in a speeding haul truck crash and sadly as the year finished, a dozer operator plummet off a bench at Queensland coal mine…just to name a few. In the midst these incidents, there’s been a raft or serious workplace injuries and near misses. Some of which will see injured operators never returning to the pit. When you read the detail, many of these inci...

SPONSORED CONTENT US based speciality lighting company, Phoenix has recently introduced new mining equipment lighting to bring a new level of safety to mine sites worldwide with its newest product – The Danger Light™. This heavy duty LED fixture leaves a distinct red beam around the shovel perimeter, clearly marking the area that should remain clear to avoid a truck-shovel impact. Phoenix says that “Human error is to blame for 93% of equipment accidents on a mine site. In an environment where safety is paramount, the Danger Light is taking the uncertainty out of this traditional mining hazard.” The 42W fixture provides 2100 lumens of efficient, LED light and maintenance-free operation. The adjustable harp allows for aiming versatility with many equipment models. “The components of the Danger Light follow the same standards of durability that Phoenix is known for, including fully potted drivers, impact-resistant lenses and conformally coated circuit boards.” The...

New laws requiring organisations to protect whistleblowers and implement whistleblowing policies have passed through the Australian Government and is expected to come into effect on 1 July. On 19 February 2019, the House of Representatives passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Bill 2018 . The Bill is due to receive royal assent and commence operation 1st July 2019. Professor A J Brown, Professor of Public Policy and Law at Griffith University, has highlighted a few key aspects of changes. Professor Brown said that legal protections do not only kick in after a whistleblower starts to experience reprisals.  Only taking action on reprisals after the event is like giving a band-aid to an amputee – by the time compensation rights are triggered, it is usually too late. All public and large proprietary companies are required to have whistleblowing policies which spell out how they will “support and protect” those who speak up...