BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) will take part in a Queensland-wide safety reset following three fatalities at its sites in the past five years.
BMA asset president James Palmer, speaking at the annual Bowen Basin luncheon, said that BHP and BMA had been “an active participant” in the safety reset, working closely with the Queensland Government, the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) and fellow operators.
Palmer said BMA has been reviewing and resetting its safety standards, and refocusing on its life-saving critical controls over the past six months internally.
“To be candid, we recognise we have more work to do, and we can’t ever be complacent about safety,” he added.
“Safety never stops, but at BMA, we are encouraged by the statistics for the last quarter, which tell us that we are improving, by setting standards we can be proud of. I am committed to maintaining this momentum.”
The reset will see every Queensland miner attend a thorough safety briefing focussing on the fatal risks at their mine site by the end of next month.
“Following a safety summit led by Mines Minister Anthony Lynham and attended by industry and union representatives, it was decided every mine worker on every site will stop work to have a two-way conversation with their employers about fatal risks,” QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said.
Safety officers will distribute a package of information to sites, which will be discussed with workers during the safety sessions with input from company executives.
Evolution Mining will also be conducting safety stops across its operations this month, following a decline in its June quarter safety performance.
The gold miner’s injury frequency rate (TRIF) climbed from 7.8 in the March quarter to 8.3 in the following three-month period.