Exploring Mandated Critical Control Management for Fatality Prevention in African Mines: Evidence from a Zambian Case Study

Critical Control Management (CCM) has become a central approach for preventing fatal and catastrophic events in mining by focusing attention on the few controls that matter most. However, in many African jurisdictions CCM remains largely voluntary, applied unevenly and not always embedded in regulatory or organisational governance. This paper uses a Zambian case study to explore how a more mandated CCM approach could strengthen fatality prevention in African mines while remaining sensitive to local regulatory capacity and operational realities. The analysis draws on a mixed-methods study in the Zambian mining sector, combining a quantitative survey of mine employees (target N = 192, realised n = 154; 80 per cent response) with 16 key informant interviews and field observations. The study found a statistically significant, moderate positive correlation between monitoring and effectiveness of fatal-risk controls and safety outcomes (r = 0.45, p