1904 changes in accident rates across the years of 2015 through 2018 as shown in Table 1 because measures taken to improve safety management and control activities are now making a difference in reducing the number of accidents occurring during years. However, the improvement in accident rates was disrupted within 2019 due to a statistical spike, which was attributed to one major incident (Vogel, 2024). The period from 2020 to 2022 shows the best safety performance on record, with historically low accident and fatality rates correlated with the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially due to reduced activity levels and more tightly controlled environments; however, in 2023 and 2024 the long-term downward tendence reversed, driven mostly by an increase in mobile equipment accidents, terrain failures, and organizational or critical control failures. The plot provided in Table 1 shows the behaviour of LTIFR for the global mining industry, according with ICMM. correlated to Covid pandemic and possible reduced activity / better controlled environments Table 1 - Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate per year at global mining operations (ICMM, 2024) Year Fatalities LTIFR 1 2015 60 0.027 2016 63 0.032 2017 50 0.026 2018 50 0.022 2019 287 2 0.118 2020 44 0.018 2021 45 0.018 2022 33 0.012 2023 36 0.013 2024 42 0.015 1 per one million hours worked 2 includes the Brumadinho dam disaster Brazil 2019 (Vogel, 2024) The mining industry worldwide has made tremendous strides to reduce fatalities within the industry over time. Between 2015-2022 some measures of achievement, like the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR), experienced a decline of roughly 30-40% because of increased innovation, enhanced Safety Management Systems (SMS), and increased understanding of the ways to identify and control risk. However, since 2022, this success has shown signs of levelling off. Although gains have been made within mining, the mining industry still poses one of the largest risks of injuries and fatalities across all industrial sectors worldwide with particularly high-risk levels at underground. Table 2 compared mining safety performance compared with other high-hazard industries. Table 2 - Mining performance compared with other high-hazard industries (ICMM, 2024). Industry /sector FR1 Manufacturing Industry ~ 3 – 4 Construction ~ 9 – 10 Mining (global) 10 – 15 Mining (underground) 15 – 25 1 Fatality Rate [deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, FTE per year] 2. ACCIDENTS IN UNDERGROUND MINING Worldwide mining fatality rates vary significantly due to differences in mining methods, the maturity of safety regulations, and the degree of formalisation within the workforce. Fatality rates in Africa and Asia are particularly high, driven by the prevalence of deep-level mining, continued dependence on coal, and large informal mining sectors operating with limited safety oversight. In Latin America, moderate to high injury rates are associated with the dominance of small-scale and informal mining operations, where regulatory frameworks and enforcement mechanisms are often weak. In contrast, Europe, North America, and Australia record comparatively low fatality rates because of stringent regulation, higher levels of mechanisation, and the implementation of advanced geotechnical controls. Across all regions, the primary 0,000 0,020 0,040 0,060 0,080 0,100 0,120 0,140 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 LTIFR [per one million hours worked] rate without Brumadinho dam rate considering the exceptional event 2019
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