When it comes to safety, it’s usually the bad news that takes the spotlight. Here are the safety success stories of 2023.
The NSW Minerals Council held 2023 health, safety, environment and community awards ceremony last night in the Hunter, recognising the most outstanding innovations and contributions to the mining industry across a range of categories.
Health Excellence award
Mining supply business Ampcontrol won the Health Excellence award for the development of their new DRIFTEX vehicles. The DRIFTEX vehicles are a new generation of battery electric vehicles (BEV) specifically designed for underground mining. The health benefits of the DRIFTEX system are the reduction in diesel fuel emissions within an underground mining environment.
Safety Excellence award
The Safety Excellence award was presented to Newcrest Cadia Operations for successfully tackling a challenging maintenance task related to replacing failing stringer chains on an underground conveyor belt system. The team at Cadia constructed a new stringer chain telehandler with essential safety features such as electronic crush protection, stability safety interlocks and a modified safety cage.
Environmental Excellence award
The Environmental Excellence award was presented to Aurelia for the company’s landmark recordable environmental incident frequency rate (REIFR) measure. The REIFR measure goes above and beyond regular data collection and enhances the mine’s environmental performance. The incorporation of REIFR measure, has resulted in year-on-year improvements in environmental performance.
Community Excellence award
Evolution Mining won the Community Excellence award for their terrific work with the local indigenous community through the Galari Agricultural Company that helps develop skills in indigenous youth.
Since its inception, Galari has achieved significant milestones, including leasing 1,500 acres of land for livestock production, renovating a farmhouse as a cultural hub, and successfully training and employing Indigenous young people.
Guiding Principles for Responsible Mining
The NSW Minerals Council also released its 2023 Guiding Principles for Responsible Mining in the state.
The guide was created as a response to the NSW mining industry recognising that meeting the community’s expectations about environment, social and governance (ESG) management opportunities is vital to the industry’s future success.
The guide recognises Glencore‘s Operator Awareness System, which monitors vehicle drivers for signs of fatigue, triggering an alarm and vibration systems when the operator’s eyes close.
Another standout in the field of safety is Bloomberg Group for its in-depth program to help supervisors identify and address psychosocial hazards in the workplace.
Here is a full list of the 2023 Guiding Principles for Responsible Mining:
- Ethical business
- Respect
- Environment
- Safe and inclusive
- Climate
- Contribution
- Future opportunities
“The mining industry in NSW is highly regulated and has a high level of compliance. Statutory requirements, and conditions of approval including planning consents and environmental licences require that risks are identified and mitigated and/or managed to an acceptable level,” the NSW Minerals Council said.
“These guiding principles seek to add to the high standards of operation already required under the laws and policies of local, NSW and Australian governments. The guiding principles provide both a roadmap for strong ESG performance and examples of how these principles are applied in practice in NSW.”