Noise

With the South African Mining Industry’s vision of zero harm, together with the commitment made by the mining companies towards achieving the agreed 2024 Noise Milestones, the elimination of noise hazards associated with mining led to the development of the Industry-wide Buy and Maintain Quiet Initiative (IBMQI).

The IBMQI is a standing decision from the mining companies to procure new equipment / machinery and maintain existing machinery in such a way to ensure compliance with the relevant noise emission requirements. The IBMQI further emphasises that it is substantially more cost effective for the mining companies within the South African Mining Industry to embark on an Industry-Wide Initiative, as opposed to individual companies’ reactive engineering developments and other individual control measures.

The Initiative primarily focuses on noise source measurement and management as the primary control towards the management of the noise hazard at the equipment / machine design phase, engagement with manufacturers and suppliers to place significant focus on noise reduction as part of their product development and industry best practice on the procurement of equipment. The IBMQI process also includes a literature review of all previous research conducted on noise reduction of equipment within the mining industry, with specific focus on equipment and machinery alterations or enhancements which resulted in the reduction of noise emissions as part of the shifting of the industry’s focus towards the management and control of noise at source.