Abstract: There is described a hydraulic friction brake for controlling deceleration of a mine hoist which brake includes a pump continually circulating hydraulic braking fluid through a valve. The valve regulates the flow of hydraulic fluid to control braking pressure applied by the brake to brake the mine hoist. The hydraulic friction brake includes a controller for controlling operation of the valve. The controller a comparator for comparing a differentiated signal indicative of hoist speed with the reference signal indicative of a predetermined hoist deceleration to provide a switching output signal having a first output value when the differentiated signal is greater than the reference signal and having a second value when the differentiated signal is less than or equal to the reference signal. The control means also includes an integrator responsive to the output signal to provide a first valve signal that controls the operation of the valve.