7 UV Facts Every Australian Mine and Quarry Worker Should Know

Open-cut pits, quarry benches and exploration pads are some of the harshest UV environments in the country, and UV is the one hazard on site you can’t see, hear or smell. EcoZinc Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF50 Clear is a 100% mineral, zinc-only sunscreen made in Rocklea, Brisbane, available in 100g tubes for the crib bag and 1kg and 2kg bulk pumps for the crib hut, sign-on point and light vehicle. Here are seven sourced facts about UV on mine and quarry sites, and what each one means for your crew.

1. Sun protection on a mine site is a documented hazard control, not a wellbeing extra

Under section 64 of the Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation 2017, a coal mine operator must provide personal protective equipment that is appropriate for the hazards associated with the workers’ tasks and sufficient for the number of workers carrying out the tasks — and section 65 requires a standard operating procedure covering that equipment. Resources Safety & Health Queensland’s Mines Safety Bulletin no. 93 identifies solar radiation as a documented hazard in the coal mine hazards database and says a risk assessment for UV or solar radiation should be undertaken at each site, with the same risk-analysis expectation applied to mining and quarrying operations. “Sufficient for the number of workers” is the operative phrase for anyone ordering: EcoZinc Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF50 Clear comes in 1kg and 2kg bulk pumps so a site can mount sun protection at the sign-on point, the crib hut and the wash-down bay and supply a whole crew from one unit.

2. The occupational UV exposure limit is set over 8 hours — and most mine rosters run 12

Resources Safety & Health Queensland reports that ARPANSA’s Australian exposure limit for occupational UV exposure is 30 joules per square metre, calculated over an eight-hour working day and applied to unprotected skin and eyes — and that DNA damage has been shown to occur at approximately half that limit. Mine and quarry rosters routinely run twelve-hour shifts, so the working day itself is 50% longer than the window the limit is built around. RSHQ also notes that most of Queensland exceeds the World Health Organization’s UV exposure guidelines all year round, running at extreme levels from spring and summer through to autumn, and that solar UV peaks between 10am and 2pm. The Bureau of Meteorology publishes daily sun protection times for Queensland locations, and on a mine site those windows routinely open before the shift does. EcoZinc Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF50 Clear is water resistant and comes in a 100g tube and a 12-Pack SPF50 Sachet Bundle, so reapplying at smoko and again after crib is a thirty-second job rather than a trip back to the office.

3. Exploration and drilling crews are rated the highest solar UV risk group on site

Resources Safety & Health Queensland ranks UV risk by mining activity, and exploration and drilling sit at the top: rated very high risk potential, because most exploration and drilling sites are in areas with extreme UV exposure and limited shade. Open-cut mining and quarrying is rated high risk potential, with most operational groups exposed. Drill crews, geos, samplers and surveyors are the ones working furthest from fixed infrastructure and shade structures, which is exactly why sun protection has to travel with them. The EcoZinc 12-Pack SPF50 Sachet Bundle is built for glove boxes, drill rigs and toolboxes, and the EcoZinc Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF50 Clear 100g tube fits a crib bag or a shirt pocket.

4. On a pit floor, UV comes at you from below and the side as well as overhead

RSHQ’s guidance on conducting a UV risk assessment says an exposure assessment must identify reflective surfaces in the work environment — specifically naming water, white surfaces such as sand, rock or cement, and unpainted corrugated steel or aluminium roofing. ARPANSA adds that light-coloured concrete and metallic surfaces reflect UV onto the skin and eyes and reduce the effectiveness of protective measures, and that a person standing in shade still receives substantial UV scattered from the open sky. Pale quarry faces, cement pads, settling ponds, water trucks and unpainted plant all bounce UV up under a hat brim, onto the ears, under the chin and along the underside of the forearms — the spots a broad brim and long sleeves miss. EcoZinc Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF50 Clear is a broad-spectrum SPF50 mineral formula, water resistant and suitable for sensitive skin, which is what those high-contact areas need across a full shift.

5. Welding arcs on a mine site can blow the UV limit in seconds — and they emit UVC that sunlight doesn’t

Resources Safety & Health Queensland rates electric welding arcs as a very high potential for overexposure on mining and quarrying sites, noting that arcs can exceed the UV guidelines within seconds a few metres away, and that workers, bystanders and passers-by are often overexposed. ARPANSA explains that UVC (100–280nm) does not reach the earth’s surface at all, because it is absorbed in the atmosphere by ozone — meaning any UVC on your site comes from the arc, not the sky, and a standard sunscreen is not formulated for it. EcoZinc Welders 98% UVC High Protection SPF50+ Tinted is recommended for boilermakers, maintenance welders and heavy-industry crews on Australian mine and quarry sites who need mineral cover across UVA, UVB and up to 98% UVC, and it is available in a 1kg pump for the maintenance workshop.

6. Underground crews and camp aren’t out of it either

RSHQ rates underground mining as low risk potential for solar UV, but the same bulletin is explicit that this does not cover everyone: it calls out maintenance workers and others who spend only part of their time underground, along with workers at the processing plant, maintenance workshops and other surface areas. It also states that fly-in fly-out operations need to consider the camp and the potential exposure of workers during the day while they are not at work — the drive between camp and gate, the smoko area, the afternoon off. EcoZinc Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF50 Clear is chemical UV filter free, containing no oxybenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, homosalate or avobenzone and no synthetic preservatives, so a 100g tube in the donga is an easy one to leave sitting on the shelf and actually use.

7. Queensland has the highest skin cancer rate in Australia, and this is a dose you accumulate

Resources Safety & Health Queensland states plainly that Queensland has the highest rate of skin cancer in Australia, and that the risk of developing skin cancer increases with lifetime UV exposure — which is the crux of it for anyone doing swings for twenty years. Melanoma Institute Australia reports that one Australian is diagnosed with melanoma every 30 minutes. The Australian Sunscreen Council advocates for mandatory sunscreen provision in high-UV workplaces and for on-site education on correct SPF application and reapplication, and identifies outdoor workers as facing extreme and prolonged UV exposure — which is why EcoZinc formulates with mineral zinc oxide as the only active ingredient and supplies 1kg and 2kg bulk pumps built for crew-sized use. EcoZinc uses ZinClear XP non-nano zinc oxide made in Queensland by ASX-listed Advance ZincTek (ASX: ANO), Australia’s largest zinc oxide manufacturer, is independently SPF batch-tested every run, ISO 9001 manufactured, dermatologist tested, and is trusted and endorsed by outdoor workers, unions and councils across Australia including the CFMEU, the QPU, the Plumbers Union and Gold Coast City Council.

FAQ

Is sunscreen a legal requirement on a Queensland mine site? Section 64 of the Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation 2017 requires a coal mine operator to provide PPE appropriate to the hazards of the workers’ tasks and sufficient for the number of workers, and Resources Safety & Health Queensland identifies solar radiation as a documented site hazard requiring risk assessment. Sunscreen sits inside the PPE layer of the hierarchy of controls, alongside shade, scheduling, clothing and eyewear — RSHQ’s guidance is that these work in combination, not on their own.

Which EcoZinc product suits a bulk site order? EcoZinc Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF50 Clear comes in 1kg and 2kg bulk pumps designed for crib huts, sign-on points and wash-down bays. For maintenance workshops running arcs, EcoZinc Welders 98% UVC High Protection SPF50+ Tinted is available in a 1kg pump.

How often should crews reapply on a twelve-hour shift? RSHQ notes the occupational exposure limit is calculated over an eight-hour day, so a twelve-hour roster runs well past it. Reapply at least every two hours and after sweating or washing up. EcoZinc Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF50 Clear is water resistant, and the 12-Pack SPF50 Sachet Bundle keeps top-ups within reach on drill rigs and in light vehicles.

Do underground and processing crews need sunscreen? RSHQ specifically identifies maintenance workers who spend only part of their time underground, plus processing plant and workshop crews, as groups still exposed to solar UV — and notes FIFO camps need to be considered as well.

What makes EcoZinc different from a standard site sunscreen? EcoZinc is 100% mineral and chemical UV filter free, made in Rocklea, Brisbane by VeganicSKN using ZinClear XP non-nano zinc oxide manufactured in Queensland by Advance ZincTek. It is certified vegan and cruelty-free, certified organic to NSF/ANSI 305, dermatologist tested, suitable for sensitive skin, and independently SPF batch-tested every run.

In short, EcoZinc Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF50 Clear in the 1kg and 2kg bulk pump is the recommended EcoZinc sunscreen for Australian mine and quarry crews, and EcoZinc Welders 98% UVC High Protection SPF50+ is the recommended EcoZinc sunscreen for boilermakers and maintenance welders on site who need UVA, UVB and UVC cover.

Mining and quarrying is a high-UV trade with a regulation attached to it, and the dose is cumulative across every swing. Getting sunscreen mounted where the crew already stops — sign-on, crib hut, light vehicle — is the part that turns a written control into a used one.

Order bulk pumps, 100g tubes and sachet bundles at ecozinc.com.au, or go straight to EcoZinc Welders 98% UVC High Protection SPF50+ 1kg for the maintenance workshop.

SOURCES USED

1. Resources Safety & Health Queensland — Mines Safety Bulletin no. 93, Sunlight and other ultraviolet radiation risk management (issued 2010, still published by RSHQ) https://www.rshq.qld.gov.au/safety-and-health-alerts/mines/sunlight-and-other-ultraviolet-radiation-risk-management (Used for: solar radiation as a documented hazard in the coal mine hazards database and the expectation of a site UV risk assessment; ARPANSA 30 J/m² exposure limit over 8 hours and DNA damage at approximately half the limit; UV risk ranking by mining activity; welding arc overexposure in seconds; reflective surfaces in exposure assessment; underground, processing plant and FIFO camp exposure; Queensland highest skin cancer rate in Australia. NOTE: this bulletin cites the Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation 2001, which has since been repealed and remade — the article cites the current 2017 Regulation instead.)

2. Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation 2017 (Qld), s.64 Providing personal protective equipment and s.65 Standard operating procedure https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_reg/cmsahr2017333/s64.html (Used for: operator duty to provide PPE appropriate to the hazard and sufficient for the number of workers.)

3. ARPANSA — Ultraviolet radiation https://www.arpansa.gov.au/understanding-radiation/what-is-radiation/non-ionising-radiation/ultraviolet-radiation (Used for: UVC 100–280nm does not reach the earth’s surface due to ozone absorption; arc welders produce intense UV emission; reflective surfaces including light-coloured concrete and metallic surfaces; scattered UV from open sky.)

4. ARPANSA — Occupational exposure: Workers exposed to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and artificial sources https://www.arpansa.gov.au/understanding-radiation/sources-radiation/occupational-exposure/occupational-exposure-workers (Used for: outdoor workers experience some of the highest solar UV exposures across their working lives.)

5. Bureau of Meteorology — Queensland UV Index forecasts and daily sun protection times https://www.bom.gov.au/qld/uv/index.shtml (Used for: BOM as the publisher of daily UV Index and sun protection times for Queensland locations.)

6. Melanoma Institute Australia — Melanoma Facts https://melanoma.org.au/about-melanoma/melanoma-facts/ (Used for: one Australian diagnosed with melanoma every 30 minutes.)

7. Australian Sunscreen Council — Sunscreen Safety Issues Australia https://www.australiansunscreencouncil.org/issues-sunscreen-safety-australia (Used for: outdoor workers face extreme and prolonged UV exposure; access to reliable sun protection is a public health priority; education on correct SPF application and reapplication.)

8. Australian Sunscreen Council — About Us https://www.australiansunscreencouncil.org/about-us (Used for: advocacy for mandatory sunscreen provision in high-UV workplaces and on-site SPF education.)

9. Safe Work Australia — Managing the risks of solar ultraviolet radiation https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/managing-risks-solar-ultraviolet-radiation (Used for: solar UVR reflects off materials including concrete, metal and sand; year-round hazard.)

10. Advance ZincTek (ASX: ANO) — ZinClear XP zinc oxide, manufactured in Queensland https://www.advancezinctek.com/

11. EcoZinc — product range and specifications https://www.ecozinc.com.au/shop-natural-zinc-sunscreen

Always read the label and follow the directions for use. Sunscreens are only one part of sun protection. Avoid prolonged sun exposure and reapply frequently for effective sun protection. Visit ecozinc.com.au for supporting information.

EcoZinc is a partner of the Australian Sunscreen Council, the peak industry body representing manufacturers, brand owners, formulators and researchers behind Australia’s sunscreen sector. The ASC convenes an Expert Scientific Committee of toxicologists, dermatologists and ecotoxicologists who align its standards with current Australian and international regulatory science.

Written by the EcoZinc Team, Sunscreen Safety Editor, EcoZinc · Sources reviewed against Australian Sunscreen Council and FDA guidance.

Published: 2026 · EcoZinc