The Extra Energy's Virginia Surface Mine - a part of Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal's Princeton branch - has been recognised with the inaugural Interstate Mining Compact Commission's (IMCC) 'Mine safety and health training award' in the coal surface mining category.
IMCC as a national organisation encompasses 27 mining states, each of which submitted a mining company's safety programme and safety record to a judging panel at IMCC. ArcelorMittal Princeton's mine was nominated by the Virginia department of mines, mineral and energy.
"We are proud that our mine has achieved more than six years without a lost time injury (LTI), logging more than 1.3 million man-hours during this time," commented Jennifer Austin, CEO of ArcelorMittal Princeton. "This important win is a testament to the strength of our safety performance and it highlights the success of programmes such as ‘Courageous leadership’, ‘Keep the promise’, ‘Keep the commitment’ and our OSHAS 18001 certification – programmes that culminated in our SMART initiative (Safe Miners Acting Responsibly Together)."
Comprising videos, safety talks, PowerPointinstruction, printed materials and classes, among others, SMART is the mine's interactive, comprehensive training programme. The SMART procedure involves identifying problems or hazards linked to a past or future incident, before convening a specialist team to assess the risk, which will then be scored to determine where sufficient controls are in place.
"This award reflects [ArcelorMittal's] dedication to protecting the safety and health of [their] employees through developing and providing relevant and innovative safety training that has been proven effective by [their] exceptional safety record," commented Beth Botsis, deputy executive director of IMCC.
ArcelorMittal Princeton is a coal mine in West Virginia that specialises in surface and underground mining of coal to produce coke and pulverized coal injection (PCI) coal. All production is consumed at ArcelorMittal facilities.
