On Friday, 20 June 2025, Notice 6329 was published in Government Gazette No. 52883, in terms of which the Chief Inspector of Mines ("CIOM") of the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, issued the Guideline for a Mandatory Code of Practice on the Prevention of Fires at Mines ("the Guideline").
The objective of the Guideline is to enable the employer at every mine where a fire could pose a significant risk to the health or safety of persons, to prepare a Code of Practice ("COP") which, if properly implemented and complied with, would improve the control measures aimed at preventing fire incidents.
The Guideline supersedes "all previous relevant COPs", which would include the Guideline for the Compilation of a Mandatory Code of Practice for the Prevention of Fires at Mines with Reference No. DMR 16/3/2/4-B3 ("the Previous Guideline"). The Guideline has remained substantially the same when compared to the Previous Guideline.
The Guideline details the steps and measures that the employer should include in the COP to manage the risks associated with fires at a mine. Like the Previous Guideline, a flow chart setting out the fire risk management process that can be used to identify fire hazards and risks is included in the Guideline. In particular, the fire risk management process lists, amongst others, the following activities to be conducted on a continuous basis to manage the risks associated with fires at a mine: fire hazard identification; identifying and locating combustible materials and ignition sources; the compilation of a dedicated fire hazard register that identifies the hazard and the location thereof at the mine; assessing the contribution of the fire hazard to the overall fire risks; risk analysis and risk assessment output; and conducting fire hazard surveys. Examples of fire hazards (underground and on the surface) are contained for information purposes in Annexure B of the Guideline.
The Guideline states that the COP should identify a fire zone, to be informed by the fire hazard register referred to above, to prevent the spread of fire from one part of a mine to another.
The Guideline also refers to the application of adequate controls for fire prevention in consideration of the systems, processes and equipment utilised at the mine and requires that such controls be recorded formally, approved by management and assigned to competent persons for completion within specified time periods.
The Guideline requires that the COP identify and implement minimum controls to prevent fires on mine infrastructure and fixed plants and provides examples of such preventative controls for consideration for the underground and on surface in Annexure E thereof.
Specific reference is also made to the implementation of preventative measures in relation to workshops, lamprooms, control rooms, offices, mobile equipment and conveyor belt installations. Such measures include, amongst others, fire detection monitoring and warning systems, as well as appropriate and adequate fire-fighting equipment.
The Guideline requires the COP to delineate measures to address awareness training and for various employees to be trained on, amongst others, general fire prevention and understanding fire prevention measures. Unlike the Previous Guideline, and in addition to mobile equipment operators, fixed plant operators and electrical maintenance personnel, the Guideline requires the COP to set out measures to train and assess the competency of fuel storage operational personnel, control room operators, lamp room and office personnel pertaining to fire prevention.
Unlike the Previous Guideline, the Guideline specifically requires the COP to put measures in place to manage the hazards and risks associated with spontaneous combustion at coal mines. Such measures must be implemented at underground coal mines; opencast and/or surface operations; abandoned or stopped areas; and include measures relating to timber used for support; as well as measures for surface vegetation and veld fires.
The effective date of the Guideline is recorded as Wednesday, 01 October 2025.
Click here to view a copy of the notice.
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