BUSINESS
A new regime of qualifications is poised to be introduced for quarries.
DODGING A
QUALIFICATIONS
BULLET
By Eamonn Ryan
There are currently between 2 000 and 3 000 surface mines in South Africa according to the DMR
database, of which barely a handful are managed by certificated mine managers. Yet the proposed
draft of regulation 2.6 of chapter 2 of the Mine Health and Safety Act absurdly requires all surface
mines to have managers who are the holders of ‘a mine manager’s certificate valid for the class of
mine to which the mine belongs’.
R
obust participation in the Mine
Regulations Advisory Committee
(MRAC) subcommittees by players
such as Finstone SA, which mines granite
and Aspasa have resulted in a likely new
scenario where the qualifications required
for the manager of a surface mine will
vary according to the risk classification of
the mine.
Chief operating officer of quarry
management company Finstone SA Ian
Ashmole, who also represented Aspasa’s
working group dealing with the changes,
says, “The chapter 2 regulations have been
in the process of drafting for almost a year
now, and I got involved in this in March
this year on behalf of the interests of my
company and Aspasa. It was the difficulty
of acquiring the qualification that prompted
Aspasa intervention: to be eligible for the
16_QUARRY SA| NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
existing metalliferous and coal manager’s
exams one had to have experience in
underground mining, including the relevant
blasting certificate and the exams were
focused almost exclusively on underground
mining practices and regulations, such
as underground blasting and ventilation
– issues which are just not relevant to
quarrying.”
Aspasa believes the DMR’s data base
of 2 000 to 3 000 surface mines is not a
true reflection, says Aspasa director Nico
Pienaar. “As many operations have closed
down and others are not listed.”
Before that, the draft requirement was of
a mine manager’s certificate of competency
issued by the DMR, the final exams for which
at the moment have a low pass rate (even
considering most of the people writing are
graduates or have prior experience credits).
The problem is that mining legislation
seeks to include all mining operations
within a single framework – rather like
having JSE listing rules apply to a corner
mom-and-pop shop. Ashmole says that as
a result of participation in the task team
responsible for the legislation, the current
proposal for surface mines is to more
sensibly introduce different classes of mines
requiring different qualifications according
to the risk classification as defined by a risk
assessment matrix developed by the MQA
on behalf of the Mine Health and Safety
Council.
Managers will require a qualification:
either a surface mine manager’s certificate
for high-risk mines, a surface mine
overseer’s certificate for medium-risk mines
or a surface shift supervisor’s certificate
for low-risk operations. However, these