Modern Mining October 2023

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Latest regulations drive demand for Booyco’s technology Following the promulgation of the Mine Health and Safety

regulation on trackless mobile machinery, which came into effect in December 2022, mining houses have actively been seeking service providers to help them align with the requirements. The regulation looks to prevent collisions involving diesel-powered trackless mobile machinery and thereby reduce fatalities and related injuries in the sector. By Nelendhre Moodley .

A decade ago, mining fatalities stood at a stag gering 270 deaths per annum. Today, with the sector’s firm focus on reducing mining fatalities by 20% per annum, the industry has succeeded in dramatically lowering lost time injury rates (LTIR) and fatality rates. Although the mining industry’s safety perfor mance deteriorated in 2021, with the number of fatalities and injuries increasing from 60 in 2020 to 74 in 2021 – and injuries increasing by 11% – from 1 814 in 2020 to 2 014, last year, the sector recorded 49 fatalities. According to Booyco Electronics CEO, Anton

Anton Lourens, CEO of Booyco Electronics.

PDS technology will continue to develop, particularly leveraging advancements in areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and other technologies.

Lourens, South Africa’s mining industry is one of the world’s most proactive when it comes to driving the agenda towards zero harm.

20  MODERN MINING  October 2023