Abstract
SYNOPSIS The real cost of any mining incident has, empirically, proven to be estimation-driven, rather than fact-driven. One of the main reasons for this lies with the complexity of the cost composition of any given mining incident. Incident costs comprise both direct and indirect cost factors, and in many cases the costs associated with these factors are incurred during different time periods following the incident. In this paper we aim to identify the various cost factors arising from mining incidents, provide a thorough understanding of all the potential cost factors identified, and draw general conclusions on the knowledge obtained. Furthermore, recommendations are made on how mining companies could use the results, in order to assist them in calculating the costs of mining incidents. The paper also provides suggestions for further research, with the emphasis on the most significant immeasurable cost factors, namely the costs of implementing job accommodations following an incident, the harm to company reputation, and the decreased productivity due to low worker morale/psychological factors following an incident. If mining companies are aware of and understand which factors could contribute to the cost of any given incident, future planning and incident cost estimations could be easier. It should, however, be noted that although this study provides a comprehensive list of cost factors (and detailed explanations), other unknown cost factors relating to mine incidents could prevail in extreme cases. Keywords: direct costs, indirect costs, mining incidents.
Highlights
Zero harm is a vision that is fully subscribed to by all South African mines
In this paper we aim to identify the various cost factors arising from mining incidents, provide a thorough understanding of all the potential cost factors identified, and draw general conclusions on the knowledge obtained
A number of objectives were reached through this study, and the following lessons learnt
Summary
Affiliation: 1 Mining Engineering Department, University of Pretoria. How to cite: Preis, E.P. and Webber-Youngman, R.C.W. 2021 Identification of cost factors relating to mining incidents. One of the main reasons for this lies with the complexity of the cost composition of any given mining incident Incident costs comprise both direct and indirect cost factors, and in many cases the costs associated with these factors are incurred during different time periods following the incident. If mining companies are aware of and understand which factors could contribute to the cost of any given incident, future planning and incident cost estimations could be easier. It should, be noted that this study provides a comprehensive list of cost factors (and detailed explanations), other unknown cost factors relating to mine incidents could prevail in extreme cases.
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