Kirkland Lake Gold has won both the Angus D. Campbell Award and the Robert E. Dye trophy for 2007. The Angus D. Campbell award, first presented in 1950, is presented annually to the company operating in northeast Ontario with the lowest frequency of accidents. The award was presented jointly to both Kirkland Lake Gold and Rio Tinto, Luzenak Division last week at the annual awards dinner.
“Both mines had zero lost time injuries including contractors,” said Ken Cook, executive member of the Northeastern Ontario Mines Safety Group. “The lowest a mining operation can get is zero and both of these operations were at zero for 2007.”
In addition, Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. was awarded the Robert E. Dye trophy. This is the first year this trophy has been presented and is awarded to the company with the lowest medical aid injury frequency.
“Both awards are a credit to all 270 company and contractor employees working both underground and [on] surface,” said Brian Pascoe, Safety Superintendent for Kirkland Lake Gold. He added, “This achievement reflects positive use of the Internal Responsibility System which promotes the attitude that all workers are responsible for their safety and the safety of others. The Company has developed an excellent training program and receiving the Angus Campbell and Robert E. Dye awards indicates that the workers are applying the training to their work practises on the job.”
“It takes a while to get the right safety culture in place especially where we had a new mine starting up,” commented Duncan Middlemiss, Kirkland Lake Gold Mine Manager. “We have a young labour force who have gone through our training programs and have bought into the safe working habits for themselves and co-workers that these programs emphasize, and we are proud of these accomplishments.”
The company purchased the Macassa mine and the 1,500 t/d mill along with four former producing gold properties – Kirkland Lake, Teck-Hughes, Lake Shore and Wright Hargreaves – in December 2001. These properties, which have historically produced some 22 Moz of gold, extend over 7 km between the Macassa mine on the west and Wright Hargreaves on the east and, for the first time, are being developed and explored under one owner. This camp is located in the Southern Abitibi Greenstone Belt of Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada.