Safety is the focus of one of the major articles in the November issue. Over recent months since July Coeur Mining, Newmont and Freeport McMoran have become the latest mining companies to be recognised by The National Mining Association (NMA) for receiving independent certification under its CORESafety® system. CORESafety’s approach to safety and health emphasises accident prevention using a risk-based management system anchored in leadership, management and assurance. The CORESafety framework is designed to go above and beyond what is required by regulations, instead focusing on a goal of continuous improvement. Its objective is zero fatalities and a 50% reduction in mining’s injury rate within five years of implementation.
Since its inception in 2011, CORESafety participants have seen a 74% reduction in fatalities.
CORESafety is a voluntary mine safety and health initiative developed and facilitated by the NMA, the US mining industry’s national trade association. CORESafety participants agree to: commit to the CORESafety system; implement a functionally-equivalent version of the CORESafety safety and health management system; submit to NMA annual self-assessments of progress toward implementation of the CORESafety safety and health management system; and, if the company elects to become or maintain CORESafety certification, complete a third- party assessment of its safety and health management system to verify that it is functionally equivalent to CORESafety and submit the assessment report to NMA. Coeur was the fifth NMA member company to complete each step of this process.
“NMA congratulates Coeur Mining on this noteworthy achievement,” said Hal Quinn, President and CEO of NMA. “Coeur has proven it is fully committed to continuous improvement in safety performance.”
“We are committed to the well-being of everyone who sets foot on our mines or projects,” said Mitchell Krebs, Coeur’s President and CEO. “The CORESafety system has helped us reduce our injury rates by over 75% since 2012. We look forward to using it as the framework for even further health and safety improvement going forward as we continue to pursue a higher standard in all aspects of our business.”
The NMA has also recognized Newmont Mining Corp for receiving independent certification under its CORESafety® system. Newmont is the fourth NMA member company to complete each step of this process. Safety is a core value for Newmont, and it has made excellent progress towards achieving its goal of zero harm by lowering injury rates by more than 50% since 2012. In fact, Newmont’s injury rates are among the lowest in the mining sector.
“We congratulate Newmont on this noteworthy achievement and want to recognize and thank Gary Goldberg for his role in the development of CORESafety,” said Quinn. “The company has been an early developer and adopter of the CORESafety framework and has gone above and beyond to implement its tenets at the company’s operations across the globe.”
On September 26, The NMA recognized Freeport-McMoRan’s achievement of independent certification under CORESafety. Freeport-McMoRan joins six other companies in receiving independent certification under NMA’s signature safety initiative.
“We congratulate Freeport-McMoRan on this laudable safety milestone,” said Quinn. “This certification demonstrates Freeport-McMoRan’s commitment to putting worker safety and health at the forefront of all of its operations and to continuously improving its safety performance year after year.”
CORESafety was a natural progression of Freeport-McMoRan’s safety program that has been certified under OHSAS 18001 for some years, said Red Conger, President and Chief Operating Officer-Americas.
“At Freeport-McMoRan, we have a deep commitment to safe production and a strong belief every job and every task can be performed safely,” Conger said. “We are proud to receive this independent certification under the NMA’s CORESafety system. A safety management system using CORESafety will help assure we have a systematic and repeatable approach to safe production. Ultimately, that means employees work safely and return home to their families at the end of each shift.”
