Safety in underground mining is framed by Johan Mostert, SHEQT Executive at Redpath Africa, as a core operational discipline rather than a standalone compliance task, requiring integration into planning, communication, decision-making and daily task execution. He stresses that rapidly changing geotechnical conditions and production pressure can quickly erode controls if safety is not embedded in frontline behaviours and supervisory routines. For engineers and managers, this points to designing procedures, shift plans and reporting systems where hazard identification, ground control checks and clear communication protocols are treated as primary production inputs.

Volvo Group is creating a dedicated Volvo Mining business to consolidate sales of Volvo-branded haul trucks, construction equipment and autonomous solutions into a single global mining-focused structure. The entity will integrate on-road and off-road fleets with autonomy platforms across load–haul, pit and haul road applications, targeting large open-pit operations as well as smaller contract miners. For mine planners and fleet engineers, this signals tighter OEM integration between conventional diesel fleets and emerging autonomous haulage and support equipment within one commercial and support framework.

Booyco Electronics has launched its Missing Person Locator (MPL), an underground personnel tracking system designed to locate workers rapidly during emergencies and meet tighter South African mine safety legislation. The MPL integrates with existing Booyco collision avoidance and cap-lamp tags to provide real-time positional data in complex tunnel networks, addressing delays and blind spots in conventional tag board and muster-based procedures. Faster localisation in the “golden hour” after an incident allows more targeted rescue deployment and supports formalised search-and-rescue protocols in deep, extensive workings.