It was African-American novelist and play write James Baldwin who said: “Know from whence you came. If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go.”

Never has this adage rung truer than in mine safety.

Safety should never be taken for granted, and in order to understand the significance of devices and systems which are commonplace in operations today (both surface and underground), as well as the possibilities offered by emerging technologies, it is important to examine the steps and milestones which led to their development.

In homage to the miners and inventors, both past and present, who have placed the goal of zero-harm within a generation’s reach, the Mining Magazine team, along with the help of three prominent safety experts, has compiled a timeline of significant safety technologies from the past 200 years. 

Our panel has also highlighted some emerging technologies, ‘ones to watch’ if you will, as well as outlining some of the lessons that they and their companies have learnt along their own personal journeys.

We offer these up to you now for discussion. Click on the attached PDF to view the full timeline