Mining Safety & Occupational Health

Vehicle interactions and poor supervision keep hurting miners, NSW regulator says industry must fix fundamentals before relying on tech

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.

From two weeks to two seconds AI is revolutionising mining by boosting safety, cutting downtime and delivering smarter, faster operational decisions

Every hour of downtime costs a mine tens of thousands of dollars, and Professor Amir Gandomi told the NSW Resources Regulator’s Mechanical Engineering Safety Seminar how artificial intelligence is now cutting those losses by predicting failures and optimising operations in seconds.

AI joins the tailings crew turning data chaos into clarity for TSF engineers chasing smarter, safer and faster decisions on and off the embankment

What do Formula 1 racing and tailings storage have in common? More than you’d think - especially when AI joins the engineering crew.

Safety theatre on the coalface: Why contractor risk management in Qld mining is all checklist, no control, and putting lives on the line

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.

From ore to upheaval: Alistair Stephens says critical mineral success in emerging nations hinges less on geology and more on geopolitics

When it comes to critical minerals in emerging nations, geology is often the easy part - what makes or breaks a project is navigating the politics, markets, and risks that sit behind the orebody.

Drawing the line with GPS tech keeps haul trucks and operators safe in high risk open pit dumping zones while boosting confidence and compliance

A high-precision GPS system that draws an invisible line between safe ground and disaster is helping one of Indonesia’s largest mining contractors keep trucks – and their operators – out of harm’s way in high-risk dumping zones.

Tailings triggers say green but bleed red as NSW audit reveals gaps in monitoring, muddled controls and a dangerous disconnect between plans and practice

When John Stacpoole, inspector of mines at the NSW Resources Regulator, took the stage at the Life of Mine | Mine Waste and Tailings 2025 Conference in Brisbane, he didn’t waste time on pleasantries.

Long range vision underground proves safety and productivity can ride the same haul truck to deliver faster trips without breaking critical controls

If your underground mine is relying on 50 metres of non-line-of-sight vehicle detection, you may already be running outside your critical safety controls.

How to grow your own EoRs in 16 years or less with a pathway that’s practical, team-based, confidence-building and tailored for today’s TSF challenges

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.

A playbook worth digging into as smart TSF monitoring saves costs, reduces risk and keeps tailings performance on track from cradle to closure

Tailings monitoring is a lot like health care - when it’s reactive, it can cost you dearly, but when it’s proactive, structured and consistent, it becomes a powerful tool for preventing failure, demonstrating stewardship, and building long-term confidence in your facility.