Mining›SWMS

Underground Development SWMS

Underground development — the excavation of declines, drives, cross-cuts, and ore passes — concentrates the highest-risk activities in mining into confined underground environments. Development headings present ground collapse risk from unsupported or inadequately supported rock, atmospheric contamination from blast fume and diesel exhaust in dead-end headings with limited ventilation, and vehicle interaction in narrow roadways where passing is restricted. The DPM WEL of 0.1 mg/m3 and the NO2 reduction to 0.5 ppm will directly affect development operations where diesel boggers and trucks operate in headings ventilated by auxiliary fans and ducting. This SWMS covers development drilling, mucking, ground support, and services installation.

Legal Requirements

regulation

WHS Regulation 2025; State mining legislation — principal hazard management plans required

hrcw category

Underground mining, confined spaces, blasting, powered mobile plant

code of practice

Confined Spaces; Managing Respirable Crystalline Silica (binding July 2026 under Section 26A)

section 26a binding

Yes — Multiple codes binding July 2026. State mining requirements apply additionally.

Hazards

Hazard	Consequence	Likelihood
Ground collapse and rockfall from unsupported or inadequately supported headings	Fatal crush injuries, burial, entrapment	Possible
DPM and NO2 exposure from diesel equipment in dead-end development headings	Lung cancer, pulmonary oedema, respiratory disease	Likely
Vehicle interaction in narrow development drives with restricted visibility	Fatal crush between vehicle and rib wall	Possible
Blast fume in development headings with finite ventilation clearance	NO2 poisoning, CO poisoning, fatality	Possible
Silica dust from drilling and blasting in quartz-bearing rock	Silicosis, lung cancer	Likely

Controls (Hierarchy of Controls)

Install ground support to the approved ground support design before any person works at the face

Maintain auxiliary ventilation to development headings — verify atmospheric conditions before and during work

Monitor DPM and NO2 concentrations in development headings using real-time gas detectors

Implement heading traffic management with vehicle tracking and communication protocols

Suppress silica dust using water injection during drilling and water sprays during mucking

Verify blast fume clearance using atmospheric monitoring before permitting re-entry

Conduct face mapping and geotechnical assessment at each advance to identify ground hazards

Recent Prosecutions

Underground development rockfall fatality — NSW$620,000

A worker was killed by a rockfall in a development heading where ground support installation had not been completed to the face. The mine had no trigger action response plan for adverse ground conditions and geotechnical mapping was not conducted at each advance.

2023 — NSW Resources Regulator Prosecution Database

What Your SWMS Must Include

✓Ground support design for each geotechnical domain with minimum support standards

✓Atmospheric monitoring requirements for DPM, NO2, CO, and O2 in development headings

✓Blast re-entry procedure with atmospheric verification requirements

✓Vehicle traffic management protocol for development headings including communication procedures

✓Geotechnical face mapping procedure and trigger action response plan for adverse conditions

Need a compliant Underground Development SWMS?

Our WHS consultants develop underground development SWMS with ground support designs, ventilation requirements, and atmospheric monitoring protocols.