Mine safety overhaul picks up pace

Thursday, 13 January, 2011

The Western Australian Mines and Petroleum Minister, Norman Moore, recently announced the imminent appointment of 21 mine inspectors to the Resources Safety Division of the Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP).

Commenting on the initiative, the Minister said: “This is an important milestone for the Mines Department and demonstrates the state government’s promise to reform safety in Western Australia’s resources sector.

“Ensuring an open relationship between industry and the regulator is also a crucial part of the reforms. I hope the industry has confidence in, and uses, the regulator for more advice, direction and guidance.

“Seven of these appointments are for Kalgoorlie-Boulder-based positions and include inspectors with expertise in the geotechnical, mechanical, process engineering and mining engineering fields.”

One of the new inspectors is Goldfields Regional Inspector of Mines Trevor Jones, who has held various mining engineering and management positions in the industry during the past 20 years. He remarked: “One of the job’s enduring challenges will be influencing the safety culture at mine sites and making sure they respond to what we are trying to introduce, to reduce incidents, accidents and near misses.

“I’ve noticed positive changes in the regulator and industry in recent years. Some huge advances have occurred in the past 10 years and it is important to build on that.”

The Minister said that DMP’s recruitment campaign attracted national attention and industry interest, adding: “The calibre of applicants was extremely high and these appointments will play an important role in positioning the regulator for the next period of sustained growth in the resources industry.”

He also stated that a significant part of the safety reforms would increase the capacity of DMP’s resources safety division: “This means employing more staff, including inspectors, improving our systems and providing further training and development for staff.”

A further recruitment campaign is scheduled for 2011.