Load, haul & blast Guide
Powder factor and fragmentation: the basics for contractors
Powder factor is explosive mass per bank cubic metre or tonne blasted. The formula, a worked blast pattern, and what fragmentation does to load and haul.
The South African edition is the home edition of Pay Dirt, written for contractors who work under the Mine Health and Safety Act, the monthly DMPR fuel price and the SARS diesel refund. It lists our South African pieces first, then the explainers that apply on any surface mine.
Safety & compliance Guide
Shift handover in mining: a practical standard
A good shift handover is face to face, two-way and backed by a written record. What a surface mine handover must cover, with a template and checklist.
Technology Guide
Telematics on mine sites: what OEM portals show and miss
Machine telematics records engine hours, fuel, location, idle time and fault codes. What manufacturers' portals show, ISO 15143-3 and what the data misses.
Load, haul & blast Guide
Truck payload: what overloading and underloading cost
Truck payload under Caterpillar's 10/10/20 policy: no more than 10% of loads over 110% of target, none over 120%, mean at or below target, and the costs.
Safety & compliance Guide
Fatigue management on mine sites: the code of practice
Fatigue management on SA mines runs on a mandatory code of practice written to guideline DMR 16/3/2/4-B2. What it requires, roster risks, a checklist.
Maintenance Guide
Hour meters and engine hours: which to service and bill on
Service on engine hours from the hour meter, where OEM intervals are set. Bill on the hours your hire terms name, and reconcile the two weekly.
Maintenance Glossary
Job card: what it is and what a mine workshop must record
A job card records one maintenance job on one machine: hour meter, fault, work done, parts, labour, lockout and sign-off. The fields a workshop needs.
Economics Glossary
Strip ratio and overburden explained
Strip ratio is the waste removed for each unit of ore or coal mined. SA opencast coal often quotes it in BCM of waste per tonne. Formula and examples.
Fuel & diesel Regulation
Diesel refund: eligible and ineligible mining activities
Which mining activities earn the diesel refund under Schedule 6 Note 6(f), which do not, and a checklist for mines and contractors on dry and wet work.
Fuel & diesel Guide
Fuel theft on mine sites: where diesel goes missing
Fuel theft is one of several ways diesel leaves a mine site's record, at six points from delivery to machine. How to find each loss and reconcile a month.
Economics Guide
Month-end in contract mining: last load to invoice
Month-end in contract mining turns loads, hours and delays into a signed invoice: survey against truck counts, standing time, sign-off and a checklist.
Safety & compliance Guide
Pre-start checks on mine sites: what the law requires
Pre-start checks on SA mines: regulation 8.10.24 requires operators to inspect trackless mobile machines before use and complete a checklist each shift.
Markets Briefing
Coal mining in South Africa: a contractor's briefing
Coal mining in South Africa: about 236 million tonnes a year, mostly in Mpumalanga. Where it is mined, Eskom and exports, rail, rehabilitation and risks.
Safety & compliance Regulation
DMRE to DMPR: what changed for mining, 2024 to 2026
The DMRE is now the DMPR. Mining law, the Inspectorate and SAMRAD stayed with it; electricity moved to a new department on 1 April 2025.
Load, haul & blast Guide
Haul truck cycle time: the parts and how to measure them
Haul truck cycle time is queue, spot, load, haul, dump and return, plus delays. How to measure each part, with a worked trucks and tonnes per hour example.
Fuel & diesel Guide
Idle time in mining: what it costs and how to measure it
Idle time in mining is engine hours with no work done: 30% to 60% of running time on earthmoving machines in published data. How to measure and cost it.
Safety & compliance Regulation
PDS in mining: what the collision avoidance rules require
PDS in mining: on SA pits with significant collision risk, diesel machines must warn, then slow and brake by themselves (reg 8.10.2.1(b), since Dec 2022).
Markets Briefing
Platinum mining in South Africa: a contractor's briefing
Platinum mining in South Africa: about 256 tonnes of PGMs in 2024 and most world reserves. Where, how, rules, logistics and risks for surface contractors.
Economics Glossary
Standing time in mining contracts: meaning and records
Standing time is when a contractor's machine is on site and ready but cannot work for a reason it does not control. What it means and what to record.
Economics Glossary
BCM (bank cubic metre): meaning and converting to tonnes
A bank cubic metre (BCM) is one cubic metre of rock or soil in the ground, before it is dug. How swell, load factor and density convert BCM to tonnes.
Markets Briefing
Chrome mining in South Africa: a contractor's briefing
Chrome mining in South Africa: 22.9 million tonnes of chromite in 2024, more than any country. Where and how it is mined, the rules, logistics and risks.
Economics Guide
Cost per tonne in contract mining: what goes into the number
Cost per tonne is the hourly cost of a fleet divided by the tonnes it moves in that hour. What goes into the hourly cost, with a worked example in rand.
Fuel & diesel Diesel price
Diesel price in South Africa for mining: September 2026
South Africa's wholesale 0.05% diesel price from 2 September 2026: 2,911.11 c/l in Gauteng, 2,823.91 c/l at the coast, up 293.90 c/l. 2026 history.
Fuel & diesel Regulation
Diesel rebate for mining: what changed on 1 April 2026
Diesel rebate for mining: from 1 April 2026 the diesel refund covers 100% of eligible litres on land, up from 80%. Since 1 July it is 382.2 c per litre.
Markets Directory
Mining contractors in South Africa: the directory
Mining contractors in South Africa: 36 companies in contract mining, load and haul, drill and blast, crushing and plant hire, dated from public sources.
Safety & compliance Regulation
The Mine Health and Safety Act for mining contractors
Under the Mine Health and Safety Act the mine owner is the employer, even when a contractor does the mining. Contractor duties, appointments and reporting.
Diesel price this month
Wholesale list price, cents a litre · As at 2 Sep 2026
- Gauteng 0.05% sulphur2,911.11c/lup293.90 c/l on last month
- Coast 0.05% sulphur2,823.91c/lup293.90 c/l on last month
- Gauteng 0.005% sulphur2,955.51c/lup314.90 c/l on last month
- Coast 0.005% sulphur2,868.31c/lup314.90 c/l on last month
Formulas, definitions and methods that work the same on any surface mine, grouped by section.
Load, haul and blast
- Bench in open pit mining: height, parts and blasting Glossary
- Berm: the safety bank along a haul road Glossary
- Burden in blasting: the distance to the free face Glossary
- Grade resistance: what a ramp costs a haul truck Glossary
- Match factor: sizing trucks to loaders Glossary
- Rolling resistance on haul roads, with a worked example Glossary
- Spacing in blasting: the distance between holes in a row Glossary
- Stemming in blasting: length, material and why it matters Glossary
- TKPH explained: tyres, heat and haul speed Glossary
- Tonne-kilometre: measuring haulage work Glossary
- Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) Mining rights, the mine health and safety inspectorate and the monthly fuel price adjustment
- South African Revenue Service (SARS) The diesel refund and customs and excise
- Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC) Research, guidance and codes of practice support
- Minerals Council South Africa The industry body, with production and safety statistics
Official sites, listed for reference. Pay Dirt is not connected with any of them.