The DMRE has issued an updated Guideline for a Mandatory Code of Practice for mines, which mainly differs from the May 2020 Guideline in providing a full set of annexures and guideline documents

In May 2020, the Chief Inspector of Mines issued a Guideline for a Mandatory Code of Practice (COP) on the Mitigation and Management of Covid-19 (Guideline).

The DMRE has recently issued an updated Guideline which will come into effect on 13 August 2021​. The updated Guideline remains materially unchanged, with the primary update being the inclusion of the full set of annexures and guideline documents. 

Interestingly, the updated Guideline does not deal with vaccination of employees or any considerations relating to risk-based mandatory vaccination policies, which have been issued by the Department of Employment and Labour. Employers may consider and take guidance from the revised Covid-19 Direction on Health & Safety in the Workplace (Direction) which was published by the Department of Employment and Labour in June 2021. But the Direction specifically excludes mines from its ambit.

In summary, the annexures are:​

Written by Kate Collier & Shane Johnson from Webber Wentzel