The South African mining sector’s health and safety record ranks among the best in the world owing to close cooperation between government, mines and trade unions, as well as continual improvements to safety products used in the industry.

This is according to safety products manufacturer MSA Africa director Colin Oliver.

“Continual product research and development is at the core of MSA Africa’s strategy. As a result, we have been instrumental in introducing new safety technologies,” he says.

MSA Africa safety products that are used extensively in the local mining sector include the Altair 4X Mining multigas detector, the only South African Bureau of Standards-approved instrument of its kind. It boasts a sensor ‘response and clear’ time of less than 15 seconds, and can detect up to four gases at any given time. These include methane, oxygen, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulphide, or carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, or hydrogen sulphide and sulphur dioxide. The large liquid-crystal display screen makes the measurement readings easy to see.

Another innovative MSA Africa mining safety product is the Luminator cap lamp, which enhances mineworkers’ ability to more effectively detect cracks on hangingwalls that are usually signs of ground falls and roof collapse.

For head protection, MSA Africa offers miners its range of patented V-Gard hardhats, which provide high comfort and performance levels for protection against various hazards. MSA Africa also boasts a comprehensive range of face masks and self-contained breathing apparatus to ensure worker safety in all mining environments.

In addition to being a leading manufacturer and supplier of personal protective equipment, MSA Africa is also a headline sponsor of MineSAFE –South Africa’s premier mine safety conference designed to bring local operations to zero harm status.

MineSAFE, which will run from August 31 to September 1 at Emperors Palace, in Johannesburg, is jointly hosted by the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Association of Mine Managers of South Africa and the South African Colliery Managers Association.

The main accolade at the annual event is the highly coveted John T Ryan Trophy, which is named after the original founder of MSA and is sculpted to feature a father coming home from work with his arms around the shoulders of his son and daughter. This is a representation of the worker being the most important component in any mine.

Oliver states that the John T Ryan Trophy has become the embodiment of safety in mining and helps to inspire the industry to work towards zero harm. “It creates a competitive spirit and inspires operations to do more than just the bare minimum with regard to compliance. “It actually inspires individuals to look beyond the face value of safety and to start looking at the processes, procedures and internal controls that improve safety on a day-to-day basis.”