OFFICIAL realities; world-class industrial mines measured against OECD-related technical controls deliver safety performance that is good, while informal mining is the major risk enhancer and continues to contribute to high rates of mining fatalities despite the presence of regulations. Europe operates from the premise of prevention through design by way of conservative designs using engineering principles, and through strict regulatory enforcement to engineer risk out of mining system at a time when underground mining is on the decline. North America has an established relationship of regular production and safe operations by implementing effective ground control plans, enforcing standards, clean operations and creating a strong safety culture among employees to empower them. Oceania (Australia) provides a strong example of achieving low fatality rates by using a small number of people to do mining, using innovative techniques for monitoring geotechnical stability, and using leadership-driven zero-harm governance. These regions show a trend toward a more effective strategic approach (e.g., from containing risk to reducing exposure to eliminating hazards) that is eventually achieved by improving technical capability, regulatory maturity, and safety culture. 5. UNDERGROUND MINING. RISK MEASURE MATRIX Measures used are categorized as primary and secondary. Primary measures reduce the risk of fatalities by controlling hazards. Secondary measures provide necessary supports for an effective implementation of the primary measure. The control intent of a measure reflects its functional safety goal to eliminate the risk through the removal of human exposure to a hazard; Prevent the occurrences of instability or hazardous interactions (your hazard) through providing safeguards against their occurrence and mitigate the consequences of a failure through controls or restrictions on the way hazards are handled (ICMM, 2023). The main sources of underground mining risk include Geotechnical risks; Interaction between mobile machinery and traffic; Environmental issues (ventilation/ gases/ fire); Use of explosives and blasting; Human and organizational factors. For the main geo-risks associated with mines, the respective measures and objectives are outlined in Tables 4 - 5. Due to having a hostile geology, primary support systems serve as controlling features in the absence of a secondary protection feature. Table 4 - Geotechnical risks (rockfall, collapse and rockburst control) Risk Primary measures Secondary measures Control intent Regions where critical FoG fall of ground (roof/walls) systematic bolting; high-strength mesh; shotcrete geotechnical mapping; inspections Prevent / Mitigate Africa, Latin America, Asia rockburst / seismic events dynamic support (energy-absorbing bolts & high-strength mesh; seismic monitoring; exclusion protocols Mitigate Africa (deep mines)
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