2015 Marks the Safest Year for Miners

The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reported that 2015 was the safest year on record for miners in the U.S. This achievement is significant and marks the continued efforts to improve the safety of miners across the country. Minerals mining is one of the most technologically advanced industries in the country and significant investments have been devoted to ensuring miners work in a safe environment. While minerals mining is vital to the U.S. economy, guaranteeing the safety of our employees remains the industry’s top priority.

Minerals mining companies across the country develop programs and invest in process improvements to make sure their miners are safe coming to work each day, and all of these safety improvement efforts contributed to last year’s success. The National Mining Association (NMA) supports these efforts through its CORESafety® initiative, which offers a custom, organic management approach to mine safety that takes into account the particular features of each mining site, rather than a “one-size-fits-all” approach. The goal of the initiative is to eliminate all mining fatalities and reduce injuries by 50 percent in five years.

In an interview with CORESafety®, Frank L. Hanagarne, Jr., the senior vice president and COO of Coeur Mining, discussed the impact CORESafety® on their silver mining operations. He noted he has seen vast advances in the mining industry over his forty year career. Hanagarne has “seen companies focus on compliance and even well beyond that. Because having good safety in industry is not just about compliance, it’s about many other things.” Hanagarne also emphasizes that “We need to continue to develop and embrace technology that helps our colleagues perform their work efficiently and safely.” It is critical to both celebrate the progress of the minerals mining industry while also continuing to pursue safety improvements.

NMA President and CEO Hal Quinn stated, “We’re very gratified by this continued progress because it confirms the result of our commitment to make American mines the world’s safest.” He added that, “The record confirms the value of our safety initiatives and our on-going determination to return every miner home safely after every shift.”

To find out more about this accomplishment read the full press release here. Read the full interview with Frank Hanagarne here.