Safety
A Queensland mine site has suffered a serious incident involving the loss of explosives after a significant rainfall event overwhelmed blast bench drainage systems—highlighting urgent shortcomings in drill and blast planning under extreme weather conditions.
At the AusIMM Underground Operators Conference 2025 in Adelaide, Newmont Principal Advisor, Technical Planning Systems Ismail Ozen delivered a rare blend of candour and insight as he unpacked the dramatic turnaround of stope performance at Musselwhite Mine.
A string of recent dangerous incidents across New South Wales mine sites has prompted the state’s Resources Regulator to renew calls for stricter controls and improved situational awareness in vehicle operations, following the release of its latest Weekly Incident Summary for the week ending 23 May 2025.
Ventilating one of Australia’s deepest underground builds was never going to be easy—but with ingenuity, modelling and a few oversized fans, Murray Jamieson made it work.
Three dangerous incidents in New South Wales mining operations – and two tragic fatalities overseas – have once again sharpened focus on frontline safety risks and the critical role of systems, supervision, and situational awareness.
As the mining industry pushes deeper and demands faster, safer, and more cost-efficient development methods, tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are emerging as a compelling alternative to traditional drill and blast (D&B) techniques.
In a decisive move that rewrote its approach to underground ground support, Tomingley Gold Operations has phased out twin-strand cable bolts in favour of Falcon Bolts—an innovative self-drilling, mechanically anchored system developed by Jennmar Australia.
A recent ammonia leak at a Western Australian manufacturing site has brought renewed attention to emergency release systems and operator response protocols after a shear coupling failed during a routine loading operation—triggering a toxic release that could have resulted in serious harm.
As underground mining continues to push the limits of depth, temperature, and stress environments, traditional geotechnical design tools are being pushed just as hard.
In the high-stakes world of underground mining, where rotating drill steels and mobile equipment operate in confined, often unpredictable environments, safety remains paramount.
