Safety Training
Contractor safety in Queensland’s coal sector isn’t just flawed—it’s dangerously broken, and one veteran risk expert is calling time on the whole system.
When Anton Kirsten took the stage at the Life of Mine | Mine Waste and Tailings 2025 conference in Brisbane, he wasted no time outlining a problem that’s been quietly growing into a full-blown crisis: there simply aren’t enough Engineers of Record (EoRs) to go around.
New rules, stricter enforcement and a state-wide crackdown are forcing South Australian mines and quarries to radically rethink how they manage crystalline silica exposure - or risk being shut down.
For an industry under mounting scrutiny and regulatory oversight, there is perhaps no role more critical - or misunderstood - than that of the Engineer of Record (EoR).
From the outside, the conversation around digital mining often gets framed in broad terms - automation, Information of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) but for those working underground or in control rooms, the real question is more practical: how do these tools actually solve the daily challenges?
For Stewart Johnston, Account Manager - Mine Electrification and Automation at ABB Australia, the key lies in making information usable, timely, and connected across the mining value chain.
A state-wide mine safety blitz has revealed widespread compliance issues in New South Wales operations, with mechanical engineering control plans emerging as the most significant area of concern.
In open-pit mining, some of the biggest productivity gains can come not from buying more trucks, but from loading the ones you have with greater precision.
The Queensland Explosives Inspectorate has identified misfires as the most pressing explosives safety issue in its latest quarterly report, with coal mining operations accounting for the majority of recorded incidents.
Resources Safety & Health Queensland (RSHQ) has issued a formal safety alert following a serious incident involving the unexpected detachment of a gantry crane rope at a mineral mine site, underscoring concerns around inadequate maintenance and inspection practices.
Statutory officials in Queensland’s mineral mines and quarries are now required to hold a valid Practising Certificate as part of a newly implemented professional development scheme introduced by the state’s mining regulator.
