The National Mining Association (NMA) has recognised the Usibelli coal mine (UCM), in Alaska, USA, with its CORESafety® certification.

CORESafety is the NMA initiative with the objective of zero fatalities and a 50% reduction in mining’s injury rate within five years. Usibelli joins 10 other companies whose operations have been independently certified under NMA’s signature safety initiative, the association said.

UCM’s mine production has grown from 10,000 tons/y (9,072 t/y) in 1943 to around 1 Mtons/y (907,185 t/y).

“We celebrate Usibelli’s dedication to safety,” Rich Nolan, NMA President and CEO, said. “Participation in the CORESafety program has already helped companies across the industry increase safety awareness and vigilance, prioritising the miners who we depend on for our modern way of life. Our CORESafety member companies are leaders in mining safety and health management, and Usibelli’s track record clearly shows leadership in this field.”

UCM President and CEO, Joe Usibelli Jr, said: “CORESafety isn’t a program that expires, it’s a system that has become part of our culture. Recently, we set an all-time high safety record of 1,085 days without a lost time incident – and that is because CORESafety is a part of our fabric.”

CORESafety is a risk-based mine safety and health management system developed by NMA.

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 thorough 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.

SomaHive LLC of Parker, Colorado, conducted the independent, third-party certification audit on July 21-22, the NMA said.