The Québec Mining Association’s Annual Convention: HORNE SMELTER, LAPA MINE AND RAGLAN MINE HONOURED FOR THEIR WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY PERFORMANCES
14/06/2016
Québec City, June 14, 2016 – Workplace health and safety (WHS) is a constant concern for the mining industry, and to reflect this, the Québec Mining Association has awarded the F.J. O’Connell trophies for the last 50 years, to recognize outstanding performances by mining companies in the area of accident prevention.
The QMA congratulates the 2015 winners in the following three categories:
• Underground operations – less than 400,000 hours worked:
Agnico Eagle’s Lapa Mine
• Underground operations – more than 400,000 hours worked:
Raglan Mine, a Glencore company
• Surface, transportation and primary metals processing operations:
Horne Smelter, a Glencore company
These trophies have been awarded every year since 1966, to make workers and supervisors more aware of the importance of teamwork in preventing accidents in the mining sector. The aim of the award is to recognize outstanding performance, and the winners are chosen on the basis of criteria including performance improvement, performance compared to the industry average, and the combined frequency of accidents based on established target values.
“Workplace health and safety has been a longstanding concern for the mining sector, and the QMA was founded 80 years ago this year specifically to reduce the frequency of accidents in mines,” said QMA President and CEO Josée Méthot. “Workers are a vital resource for the industry, and it is for this reason that the QMA takes action, innovates and does what it can to ensure a safe working environment.”
The overall performance of Québec’s mining companies is impressive. “Workplace health and safety has become an integral feature for our companies, at every hierarchical level,” said Ms. Méthot. “Thanks to our members’ commitment to this issue, the mining sector has become a figurehead in Québec and we can be very proud of that.”
About the Québec Mining Association
The Québec Mining Association (QMA) was founded in 1936, and speaks actively on behalf of mining production, exploration and processing companies, mining contractors, newly developed mining companies and the mining sector’s suppliers, institutions, non-profit organizations and partners. The QMA is proud of the 45,000 quality jobs and $2.3 billion in mining investments generated by mining in Québec in the last year, and has given itself the mission of promoting, supporting and proactively developing a responsible, committed and innovative mining industry in Québec.