Within the mining industry, project risk analysis has not yet found universal application because of misunderstanding of the types of risk analysis performed and confusion with the terminology. This is usually the fault of practitioners and has led to scepticism, especially in the validity of quantified results because they are not interpreted before submission to management who have little experience in their application. Because of the general lack of trust in the method there is often an unwillingness to accept risk analysis as a management tool and an erroneous belief, in some quarters, that risk analysis is of value only in safety. This paper attempts to correct some of these shortcomings describing the different application of risk analysis throughout a mining project and drawing on experience from other industries; and concludes that practitioners and managers should promote formal risk analysis out of the safety and environmental departments.