Archives: Mining safety

Mexico has become the latest country to enforce a suspension of non-essential activities in response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with its Ministry of Health ordering a temporary halt of activities until April 30 in order to slow the virus spread. Mexico is the world’s largest silver producer, having produced 6,300 t of[…]

BHP and Vale have invested in measures to help mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Chile and Brazil, respectively. While BHP has already announced COVID-19-related plans to hire more people and provide preventative measures in Australia, on top of freeing up money for to support local suppliers, it has now tabled its $8[…]

In June 2018, the Sustainable Underground Mining project (SUM) was initiated bringing together iron ore mining major LKAB with four other players in Swedish industry, the Volvo Group, ABB, Epiroc and Combitech. The test bed project for an integrated, efficient and carbon-free mining system, has now received new financial support from the Swedish Energy Agency.[…]

MineWare CEO and founder, Andrew Jessett (pictured), has stepped down from his role at the company to pursue new opportunities, the independent monitoring systems company says. Jessett founded MineWare in 2005, after independently creating and commercialising Pegasys, an advanced dragline monitor system. “I’m immensely proud of everything the MineWare team has achieved over the past[…]

The past week has seen the news filled with updates from major miners on shutdowns, slowdowns and lockdowns of major mining sites due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 worldwide. The list of affected operations is now a long one, affecting all major commodities, from Cerro Verde to Ambatovy and from San Cristobal to Voisey’s[…]

Two of the leading players in monitoring technology, Worldsensing and IDS GeoRadar, a Hexagon company, have cooperated to launch what they say is the most comprehensive mine safety monitoring system to date. The integrated system will be the first in the world to offer surface, sub-surface and geospatial monitoring in a single package, greatly simplifying[…]

Codelco says it will temporarily suspend some of its projects as part of its measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This will affect construction on the Chuquicamata Underground Mine project, which was previously expected to produce 320,000 t/y of fine copper by around 2026; the early works of Rajo Inca, a 70,000 t/y copper[…]

The latest provincial government-mandated restrictions to address the COVID-19 situation have seen miners down tools at operations in Quebec, Canada. Announced on March 23, the order was for the shutdown of all non-essential businesses and services for a period of three weeks, starting on midnight on March 24. While mining was listed as one of[…]

Mincor says it plans to incorporate some of the most modern mining technology to enhance safety, boost operational efficiency and reduce costs at its integrated nickel re-start project in the Kambalda District of Western Australia. Having released the definitive feasibility study on the project, the company is now awaiting a positive final investment decision from[…]

Safer tailings storage facilities (TSFs) – or tailings dams – can be achieved when mine owners, contractors and engineering consultants work closely together, says SRK Consulting’s Linda Spies. Speaking after a recent Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM) conference focusing on tailings dams, Spies, Senior Geotechnical Engineer at SRK Consulting, said that mining[…]