Highlights from the literature on risk assessment techniques adopted in the mining industry: A review of past contributions, recent developments and future scope Verma Shikha a,⇑ , Chaudhari Sharad b a Department of Mechanical Engineering, YCCE College, RTMNU, Nagpur 441110, India b Department of Mechanical Engineering, YCCE College, Nagpur 441110, India article info Article history: Received 19 July 2015 Received in revised form 4 November 2015 Accepted 11 January 2016 Available online xxxx Keywords: Risk Risk assessment Mining Hazard Safety abstract In this paper a comprehensive review is presented of risk assessment techniques adopted in the mining industry worldwide; those techniques applied in other hazardous industries and potential techniques which are robust, mature and holistic and can be implemented for the Indian mining industry in future to enhance workplace safety are also presented. Findings from the review are indicative of the fact that socio-technical complexity of industrial systems has increased. Recent developments in the area of risk management highlight the need for implementation of the latest robust techniques of risk assessment in the mining sector. In consideration of the present scenario, the development of a model for risk anal- ysis having an interface between hazard identification and risk assessment, along with an interface between risk assessment and accident causation to predict if an accident will occur under given condi- tions, has become dire necessity. This will increase hazard awareness and enable mine management to select and prioritize problem areas and identify safety system weaknesses in both underground and sur- face mining. This will ultimately help decision makers, risk analysts and safety managers make a major contribution in the development of workplace safety with a near-to-zero accident rate. Ó 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology. 1. Introduction Minerals constitute the backbone of economic growth of any nation and India has been eminently endowed with this gift of nat- ure. Many minerals, namely oil, gas, coal, copper, lead–zinc, gold, iron, manganese, limestone and bauxite, all of which have high commercial value, are extracted in India. The life cycle of a mine consists of exploration, mine development, mine operation, decommissioning and land rehabilitation [1–5]. Mines are nor- mally classified as metalliferous or non-metalliferous, and further subdivided into opencast or underground mines. Extraction of the mineral is fraught with innumerable dangers; mining has always been a hazardous profession, and in 1985 the government of India initiated steps to formulate legislative measures for the safety of workmen. In 1897, the first major disaster in mining occurred in the Kolar goldfields, killing 52 persons, to be soon fol- lowed by the Khost coal mine disaster in Baluchistan (now in Pak- istan), killing 47 persons [1–4]. These disasters hastened the process of formulation of safety laws and as an outcome to this the first Mines Act was enacted in 1901 [1–4]. Risk assessment has now been made a requirement of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (Sections 7 and 8). Risk assessment is the process of evaluating the risk(s) arising from a hazard(s), taking into account the adequacy of any existing controls, and deciding whether or not the risk(s) is acceptable (OHSAS-18001). A hazard is any situation, substance, activity, event or environment that could potentially cause injury or ill health (OHSAS-18001). Risk combines three elements: a potential event, with probability of its occurrence, and severity of conse- quence (OHSAS-18001). The following steps constitute the process of risk assessment (Report on Health and Safety Management Sys- tem (RHSMS)): proper identification of the hazard, to know who is at risk, to understand the possible measures that can be taken to treat the hazard, minimise its impact in the workplace, to maintain the measure adopted for the future. This assessment will help deci- sion makers to frame the mitigation plan and practice, so that a healthy workplace with near to zero accident rate can be devel- oped. The flow chart for the research methodology is shown in Fig. 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2016.05.023 2095-2686/Ó 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology. ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 995 3912920. E-mail address: shikhaverma2108@gmail.com (S. Verma). International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2016) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Mining Science and Technology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmst Please cite this article in press as: Verma S, Chaudhari S. Highlights from the literature on risk assessment techniques adopted in the mining industry: A review of past contributions, recent developments and future scope. Int J Min Sci Technol (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2016.05.023