ABSTRACT

Ground Support in Mining and Underground Construction-Villaescusa & Potvin (eds.) © 2004 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 90 5809 640 8

ABSTRACT: This paper summarizes data on rockfalls in Western Australian underground metalliferous mines from 1980 to 2003 as gathered by the Department of Industry and Resources. The data includes information on numbers of: underground employees, lost time injuries, fatalities and reported rockfalls. The data were analyzed on an annual basis to determine if any trends were present. The introduction of the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 and Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995 in December 1995, plus the MOSHAB Surface Rock Support for Underground Mines Code of Practice in February 1999 are discussed. Suggestions are made for the improvement of data collection. For comparison, data on the number of employees and rockfall lost time injuries in Queensland and New South Wales underground metalliferous mines are also presented. The limitations of accident and incident data are discussed. The use of positive performance measures is reviewed.