The Queensland Government and the Government of India have signed a three-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop mine safety management plans.
The MoU was approved last week by a union cabinet chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It establishes a partnership between India’s Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) and Queensland’s Safety in Mines, Testing and Research Station (SIMTARS).
The two groups will implement risk-based safety management systems incorporating training programs, seminars and technical meetings, a national mine disaster centre and and occupational health and safety (OHS) academy.
In addition, the groups will work on modernising the DGMS research and development (R&D) laboratory.
SIMTARS, part of the Queensland Government’s Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, specialises in health and safety training and environmental issues within the resources sector.
“Mining accident rates in Australia [are] the lowest in the world,” an Indian Government released stated.
“Australia has pioneered in conceptualising and implementing risk-based safety management plans for the mining sector using the technique of hazard identification and risk assessment.”
India recorded 377 official mine deaths between 2015 and 2017, with more than half that number killed in coal mines, according to figures from India’s Labour and Employment Ministry.
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