OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE FOR MINES AND QUARRIES
Every mine must measure its employees' exposure to airborne pollutants, noise, heat and other hazards, and must engage a person qualified in occupational hygiene to do it. Qualitas carries out occupational hygiene assessments on mines and quarries under the Mine Health and Safety Act (29 of 1996), and Christo de Wet can hold the section 12(1) occupational hygiene appointment for surface operations.
We also serve the contractors, workshops and processing plants around the mines, whose own premises fall under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
MINING REGIONS WE SERVE
Kathu, Postmasburg and the Kalahari manganese field
Rustenburg and the western Bushveld
Burgersfort, Steelpoort and the eastern Bushveld
eMalahleni, Middelburg and the Highveld coalfields
Klerksdorp, Orkney and the Free State goldfields
Quarries and sand mines across South Africa
Section 11 of the Mine Health and Safety Act requires the employer to identify hazards, assess the risks and record them. Section 12 requires a system of occupational hygiene measurements, carried out by a person qualified in occupational hygiene techniques, and the results feed the mine's medical surveillance programme and its codes of practice.
Quarries, sand and aggregate operations, opencast pits, processing plants and surface workshops on a mining right are all covered.
THE HAZARDS WE MEASURE ON MINES
Respirable dust and respirable crystalline silica from drilling, blasting, crushing, screening and haul roads.
Diesel particulate matter and exhaust gases from haul trucks, loaders and generators.
Noise from crushers, mills, compressors and mobile plant, with noise zoning and hearing protection checks.
Heat in plants, pits and workshops, and cold where it applies.
Whole-body vibration on haul trucks and earthmoving machines, and hand-arm vibration from power tools.
Welding fume, solvents and other chemicals in engineering workshops, and illumination in plants and workshops.
WHAT THE LAW REQUIRES
WHY QUALITAS
Qualitas Occupational Consulting is a Department of Employment and Labour Approved Inspection Authority (AIA) and a SANAS-accredited (ISO/IEC 17020) inspection body for asbestos, lead, noise and hazardous chemical agents, and applies the same quality system to all its assessments.
Every assessment is led by Christo de Wet, an occupational hygienist registered with the Southern African Institute for Occupational Hygiene (SAIOH), with 15 years of experience and an intermediate certificate in mine environmental control.
We work nationwide, and Qualitas has also carried out assessments in Botswana and Kazakhstan. Travel is quoted upfront.
You receive a professional, audit-ready report.
- Section 12(1) occupational hygiene appointment for surface operations, Occupational hygiene measurement programmes, Respirable dust and silica monitoring, Diesel particulate and exhaust gas monitoring, Noise surveys and noise zoning, Heat stress surveys, Vibration surveys, Illumination surveys, Hazardous chemical agent monitoring in workshops and plants, Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) testing, Occupational health risk assessments
Start with a free Compliance Gap Analysis checklist to see which assessments your operation needs and which are overdue.
OUR SERVICES FOR MINES
- Can Qualitas hold our section 12(1) occupational hygiene appointment?
For surface operations, yes. Christo de Wet holds an intermediate certificate in mine environmental control, which qualifies him for the section 12(1) appointment on surface operations.
Does a small quarry need occupational hygiene measurements?
Yes. The Mine Health and Safety Act applies to every mine and quarry, whatever its size. Crushing and screening rock produces respirable silica, and crushers and mobile plant are usually noisy enough to need noise zoning.
Our contractors work on the mine but have their own workshop in town. Which law applies?
Work on the mine falls under the Mine Health and Safety Act. The contractor's own workshop, yard and offices fall under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the contractor is responsible for the assessments there.
How do we get a quote for a mine or quarry?
Send the form below with your site location, WhatsApp us or call 082 649 6599. Tell us what the operation does and roughly how many employees work there, and we will quote you upfront.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
REQUEST A QUOTE
Need occupational hygiene measurements or a section 12(1) appointment for your mine or quarry? Contact us for an obligation-free quotation, WhatsApp us or call 082 649 6599.
