Rock-related accidents have reduced significantly in recent decades, owing to incremental improvements in rock engineering practice, says independent consulting firm of engineers and scientists SRK Consulting chairperson William Joughin.
He states that the company’s contribution in this field includes assisting mines by reviewing safety practices, as well as providing safe rock engineering designs and detailed seismic hazard analysis.
Fall of ground (FoG) is the leading cause of fatalities in the sector, making up a third of mining fatalities in 2019, according to Minerals Council South Africa. The council recently reported that total FoG injuries have dropped from 1121 in 2003 to 379 in 2019, while FoG fatalities are down from 131 to 20 over the same period.
Joughin cautions, however, that this reduction in the number of injuries and fatalities is also linked to the general decline in mining industry employment.
Read the full article on Mining Weekly
