• HEALTH AND SAFETY
MINES TO ADHERE TO NEW CODE OF PRACTICE
By Sharon Mdaka
The new Code of Practice( COP) for road and rail safety management under the Mine Health and Safety Act( MHSA), which was introduced by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources( DMPR), was effected on 1 October 2025. Under this new law, mining houses are required to implement and adhere to the new standards daily.
The update marks a significant move from the long-criticised“ tick-box” approach that has shaped transport management for decades.
According to Louise Woodburn, general manager: Risk Solutions at KBC Health and Safety, the new COP aims to improve on-site transport safety holistically. It also addresses a long-standing challenge within mining operations
“ For years, transport management has become more of a tick box exercise than a core safety priority. Many mines have been relying on checklists. I ' ve got a checklist and I ' ve ticked all my boxes, but they haven’ t delved into the other side of it. This code of practice is now making it mandatory for them to look at the holistic picture,” says Woodburn.
Legislation is written in blood Mining remains one of the most dangerous industries and transport is one of the highest-risk activities in mining. Woodburn notes that the industry’ s long incident history made the update unavoidable.“ They always say legislation is written in blood. When there are a whole lot of incidents around something, that’ s when strategy changes. This COP is about putting measures in place to mitigate incidents happening, not just dealing with them afterwards.”
The COP extends to both passenger and material transport and emphasises design, mechanical safety, human factors, fatigue, route and trip planning, as well as maintenance aligned to OEM specifications, supervision and behaviour-based safety.
“ It aligns operational controls and human factors. It gives them equal weight. It’ s not just about maintaining vehicles, it’ s about operators working in good vehicles and being fit and competent to use them,” she says.
Moving from paper compliance A central shift in the new COP is its demand for evidence of actual operational readiness, not just administrative compliance.
Operator competency must be proven, not assumed. Woodburn explains that mines must now map every driver category and define routespecific requirements, licences, medicals and refresher courses. Fatigue management is now mandatory. The COP requires mines to conduct daily shift readiness and fatigue checks.“ You can have the best machines in the world, but if the operator hasn’ t slept or is stressed, human error will have an enormous impact,” Woodburn says.
Maintenance must meet original design parameters. A key change is the introduction of mandatory brake-testing systems.“ If the OEM says a brake can stop at 10 tonnes, we must test that capability. Maintaining a haul truck on a normal road and maintaining it on a mine are different. Testing must match the environment.” All maintenance must be evidence-based, documented and auditable.
Behaviour and supervision receive renewed focus.“ We can’ t say,‘ We’ ve got a checklist, so we’ re fine.’ This is a whole-system approach,” Woodburn stresses.“ It’ s about behaviour change. Supervisors need to enforce the standard, not just monitor it.”
Because the COP is now legislated under the MHSA, the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources( DMPR) can issue Section 54 stoppages if mines fail to comply.
An inspector may ask a mine to show:
• Its competency matrix
• Fatigue-screening processes
• Brake-test and maintenance records
• Route certifications
• Evidence of corrective training
“ It gives the enforcement arm teeth. An inspector can walk in and say, Show me how you’ re complying with this COP, the same way they do with ventilation or trackless mobile machinery.”
What this means for junior miners:“ Your bigger mines are already further down the road. Junior mining houses don’ t have the resources, financially or in personnel, to implement some of these things as quickly.”
“ You could put fatigue-monitoring technology in every haul truck, but that’ s a few million rand. A small mine simply can’ t. But the legislation still expects them to manage fatigue reasonably.”
This is where KBC sees a critical support role.“ We start with a gap analysis, what’ s in place, what’ s missing and then build a roadmap to close those gaps.”
Woodburn suggests four practical steps for mines to start implementing immediately: 1. Build a competency and transport matrix – define all operator categories, route requirements, licences and medicals. 2. Implement route-specific and vehicle-specific inductions – drivers must know the environment and the machinery they’ re using. 3. Strengthen documentation and traceability – in the mining sector, if it isn’ t documented, it doesn’ t exist.” 4. Prioritise near-miss learning – a culture of immediate reporting and near-miss learning is essential.
There is no fixed timeline for the transition.“ How long is a piece of string? It depends on where the mine is starting. If you don’ t have fatigue monitoring, or maintenance records aren’ t traceable, it will take longer. That’ s why the gap audit comes first.”
Despite the challenges, she believes the industry will adapt fully.
Supplied by Louise Woodburn
Louise Woodburn, general manager: Risk Solutions at KBC Health and Safety.
“ The mining sector does compliance very well when legislation has teeth,” she says.“ Now that this COP sits under the MHSA, it will become part of daily practice. It’ s not a‘ them versus us’ situation – we’ re trying to make sure everyone goes home safely.” In her view, the biggest shift the COP demands is simple.“ It’ s about risk ownership, not ticking a box. It’ s about understanding what could hurt people and making real-world changes to stop it.” •
26 • African Mining • March 2026 www. africanmining. co. za