SUPPLY SIDE

Deeper probing uncovers safety challenge

MORE than 40 more deaths might have occurred in Australian mines in the past decade if the unacceptable rate of loss in the mid-1990s had not been arrested. Many of the fatalities would have happened due to rockfalls or geomechanical causes, going on established patterns. But the industry’s success in temporarily subduing the rockfall menace perversely highlights a deeper challenge. <b><I>Supply Side</I> by Richard Roberts*</b>.