On Friday, 28 March 2025, Notice 6054 was published in Government Gazette No. 52388, in terms of which the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, under sections 98(1)(g) and 98(1)(h) of the MHSA, published amendments to Chapter 8 of the Mine Health and Safety Regulations (“the Notice“).
In terms of the Notice, Chapter 8 of the Mine Health and Safety Regulations is amended by the addition of new regulations numbered 8.13 to 8.13.139 (“New Regulations“) after Regulation 8.12. The Notice further provides that Chapter 16 of the Minerals Act Regulations is repealed in its entirety (“the Repealed Regulations“).
The New Regulations are largely based on the Repealed Regulations, save that:
- The New Regulations have been rearranged more logically in terms of the items addressed in the regulations, and
- A large number of the provisions concerning items addressed in the Repealed Regulations (which have been adopted in the New Regulations) have been amplified. These include provisions dealing with slack rope, the condition and strength of winding ropes, and the prevention of the entry of vehicles in the shaft station area.
The amendments as per the New Regulations require a detailed analysis by employers to ensure that additional and amended requirements concerning machinery and equipment are identified.
It is important to note that the New Regulations came into operation, in terms of section 13 of the Interpretation Act, 33 of 1957, on the date when the regulations were first published in the Government Gazette as a law. The New Regulations, therefore, commenced on 28 March 2025.