Vale Base Metals has won the coveted Ryan Award for two of its mining operations; one at the Coleman Mine in Sudbury and the other at Voisey’s Bay Mine in Newfoundland & Labrador.
The John T. Ryan Safety Award is regarded as the most prestigious mining safety award in Canada and is presented annually by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM).
In a news release, Vale said the national John T. Ryan Trophy for 2022 in the Select Mines category for outstanding safety was awarded to the Voisey's Bay Mine.
At the same time, the Coleman Mine in Sudbury received the regional John T. Ryan Trophy in the metal mine category.
The award was welcomed and well-deserved said Alfredo Santana, Chief Operating Officer for Vale’s North Atlantic Operations.
“This is a well-deserved recognition for every employee in both mines, who work each day to ensure they, and their colleagues go home to their loved ones,” said Santana.
“The safety culture demonstrated by the team’s commitment to actively identifying and managing risks in the workplace with potential to cause harm, reinforces that our employees are living Vale’s behavior of being obsessed with safety and risk management.”
The awards were presented at the recent CIM’s award gala in Montreal.
The awards are given in various categories to the Canadian mine with the lowest injury frequency during the previous year, said the news release.
Voisey’s Bay was awarded the national title after achieving a zero-reportable injury rate over more than two million hours worked during 2022. This is the eighth year that Voisey’s Bay has received this prestigious award since 2014, said Vale.
The Coleman Mine was recognized at the regional level with a 0.42 injury rate over more than 1.2 million hours worked last year.
“At Vale it is our responsibility to ensure everyone goes home safe,” Santana said in the release. “Safety is a precondition for everything we do, and I am enormously proud that both our sites have been recognized for their commitment to safety this past year.”
