Safety Training
When a digger operator says a new system lets them “see trucks in blind spots you don’t see,” you know it’s more than just another safety add-on – it’s changing how mining crews work.
At the NSW Resources Regulator’s 33rd Mechanical Engineering Safety Seminar, Chief Inspector of Mines Anthony Margetts and Principal Inspector – Technical Russell Wood delivered a clear message: the industry must move beyond box-ticking and adopt smarter, outcomes-focused approaches to its most persistent hazards.
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.
