Many ores and concentrates used and produced by the mining industry are classified as hazardous substances. Australian law requires that all relevant safety and health information linked to potentially hazardous materials be provided to the workplace in the form of a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and labelling so that the material can be used and transported safely.

Safework Australia and WorkSafe Western Australia legislation has adopted the Globally Harmonised System (GHS) for classification and labelling of chemicals. The GHS system is aligned with Dangerous Goods (DG) codes and the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code and is required for Australian transport and international shipping. Safework Australia also requires a review of product SDSs after a period of five years from issue – significant changes to composition may require a review prior to this.

SDS generation, dangerous good and shipping classification involves:

• Classification of the chemical/material following GHS. Classification into the GHS categories triggers a requirement for hazard or warning labels, statements and symbols depending on the category.
• Classification of the chemical into one of the nine classes of dangerous goods by the Australian Code for transport of dangerous goods (ADG). Classification by ADG triggers requirements for placarding on transport vehicles.
• Determining if the chemical is classification of as harmful to the marine environment (HME) following the MARPOL Annex V.
• For materials that are not DG – determining if the chemical is classified as materials hazardous in bulk (MHB) for shipping.