Improving Health and Safety in the Expansion Phase of Mining Industry in Developing Countries

Iranian mining industry has great potential for growth and is poised to grow faster than the rest of the economy in near future. This opportunity for growth should coincide with good environmental practices and improving health and safety conditions in mining operations. The economic viability and productivity should not be a competition to improving health and safety (H&S) in mining practices since in many of the developing countries with significant growth in their mining activities in past decade, the increase in production and productivity has been accomplished with reduced number of accidents and fatalities and achieving better and healthier working conditions. In general, the safest mines are the most productive mines. This requires the correct use of technology through higher investment in mechanizing the operations, along with the commitment to health and safety, which requires long term vision of the industry and proper legal and regulatory framework. This paper offers a brief review of the issues related to improving H&S in the expansion phase of mining activities in developing countries, as a good model to follow for growth of the mineral industry for Iran.