Proposed changes to SANS 1438, which specifies the technical requirements of cap lamps, will oblige SANS 1438-accredited mining companies to replace the cap lamps that do not comply with the revised standard requirements.

“SANS 1438, which has been published, but not yet signed into law, will have an impact on the cap-lamp requirements for underground mine lighting. “When signed into law, all current cap lamps used at mines will have to be replaced within two years of the standard being signed into law,” says safety equipment manufacturer MSA Africa portable instruments regional product manager for Africa Tshepo Lebona, noting that MSA’s new Luminator cap lamp, which is still to be launched onto the African market, already meets the technical require-ments of SANS 1438.

Changes to SANS 1438 include improved light quality of cap lamps, which must be intrinsically safe, have inspection authority certification and increased battery safety. All new lamps must also pass stringent lab tests and undergo a minimum of 70 000 hours of underground testing.

Once a product passes these requirements, the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) will provide a part number for the product, accrediting it to be used on a mine in South Africa. “This will raise South African cap lamp standards and light quality to one of the highest in the world. “Once the legislation is promulgated, the DMR will be inspecting compliance, which will ensure the safety of South African miners,” Lebona says.

Head protection is another strict safety requirement in underground mining oper-ations, notes MSA senior product manager for head, eye, face and hearing protection Loren Pearson.

“All MSA V-Gard head protection products are SANS 1397-approved and have received DMR approval for underground use. Further, all MSA eye-, hearing- and face-protection products have the relevant European Norm and Conformité Européenne certification and approvals,” she says.

Lebona highlights gas detection equipment as another important aspect of worker safety at mines. To ensure early gas-leak detection, MSA supplies the portable Altair 4X multigas detector and the Galaxy GX2 automated test system, which MSA launched in the last quarter of 2012.

“The Altair 4X detects the levels of oxygen and whether they are appropriate, as well as the presence of harmful gases such as methane, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulphide. It is also IP67-rated, making it resis-tant to dust and water conditions in mines,” he explains.

IP ratings are published by the Inter-national Electrotechnical Commision and measure the resistance of products’ mech-anical casings and electrical enclosures to dust and water.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy GX2 is used to test and calibrate the Altair 4X to ensure that it performs according to specifications. Lebona says: “[The unit] “reduces calibration time, training requirements, gas usage and person- nel downtime. “It also features a data down-load and management function, which man-ages gas exposure incidents, prints calibration certifications and customised reports on incidents and enables the automatic emailing of preset reports.”