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Preventing fatalities
Health and safety / Safety SHARE    

Responsible mining and metals companies have an unwavering

commitment to the health, safety and well-being of their workers
and their families, local communities and wider society. But despite
the implementation of comprehensive safety management systems
by many companies, fatalities and potential fatalities continue to
occur.

As an industrial activity, mining is often hazardous – but this doesn’t mean it

cannot be done safely. And ICMM member companies are working towards a
common vision of zero fatalities. With effective risk management, accidents are
preventable.

Health and safety needs to be central to all operations and processes – with
every practical and reasonable measure adopted to eliminate workplace
fatalities, injuries and disease from mining and metals activities. Key hazards of
particular relevance to mining include:

fall of ground/rock falls/seismic activity, especially in underground

environments

collision of vehicles, with other vehicles, stationary equipment and

personnel by land, sea and air

explosions, especially from the build-up of natural gasses, which is

particularly hazardous in (but not unique to) coal mining

catastrophic failure of mine infrastructure (e.g. tailings dam or mine wall

failure, “outbursts” and “inrushes”)

flight safety incidents.

The above list is not exhaustive, but serves to show the wide range of risks
present in the workplace that can lead to fatalities. ICMM produces an annual
mining safety report covering the fatality and injury data of its members. The
aim of which, is to encourage information and knowledge-sharing among
members, and catalyse learning across the industry on where to focus efforts.
Find our latest safety data reporting here. 

Workplace health and safety impacts

According to the International Labour Organization, over 320,000 people die

in accidents across all industries every year. The same authority reports
close to 317 million non-fatal accidents occur annually in the workplace, with
many resulting in extended absences from work. With the economic burden
of poor occupational safety and health practices estimated at 4 per cent of
global gross domestic product (GDP) each year.

Mining and metals companies need to use a combination of risk management

systems, leadership and establishing a culture of safety to help stop these
hazards from causing illness and injury at work and in local communities. 

Safety risk management

Risk management seeks to combat events of low consequence but high

frequency (for example, a fall resulting in a bruised knee) and those that are of
high consequence, but low frequency, specifically injuries and illnesses that can
result in loss of life. Managing these risks requires implementation of agreed
controls.

ICMM has developed what it considers good practice on managing high

consequence, low frequency events in the industry. For further information see
critical control management. Other organisations, such as the Flight Safety
Foundation and its BARS programme, also provide useful additional guidance.

Safety leadership and culture

The focus of this element is centred on proactive actions and behaviours that
can be exercised by the mining and metals industry to help eliminate the risk of
incidents occurring. Leaders, from chief executives to frontline supervisors, are
vital in this regard as they set the tone for others in their organisation to follow.
A visible commitment to health and safety at all levels of an organisation is
essential, which is central to establishing a culture of safety. 

Guidance materials

To support industry in working towards achieving zero fatalities ICMM has

produced key resources aimed at addressing many of the important issues on
health and safety.

Leadership matters: eliminating fatalities is a guide for senior leaders to help

increase workplace safety, both through their personal actions and through the
processes and activities they need to ensure are in place.

Leadership matters: managing fatal risk guidance is a document intended for

managers at operations on-site, and should be read in conjunction with the first
Leadership Matters document. This guidance provides a series of self-
diagnostic prompts, built around an internationally recognised risk management
framework that can help identify potential gaps in safety management systems.

ICMM will continue to work diligently with our members to achieve our goal of
zero fatalities by providing a forum for companies to come together, to share
and learn from each other and other industries and to build on the guidance
already developed.

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