Take a moment to consider the contribution mining people make to the town you live in.
In Williams Lake and its immediate surroundings there are some 650 Gibraltar Mine employees and their families who live, pay taxes, go to school, spend their money and enjoy life.
Collectively, they generate a payroll of $70 million, 95 per cent of which is spent locally and stays right here in the Cariboo circulating from hand to hand and store to store helping to generate wealth and opportunity for thousands of others.
Then there are the hundreds of more people who live and work in this same region (and beyond) because of Gibraltar.
They earn a living working for any one of the hundreds of other companies that supply the $280 million per year in goods and services that Gibraltar requires to keep operating, around the clock 365 days of the year.
Taken together, these men and women who represent the direct and indirect Gibraltar workforce were responsible for producing a record 141 million pounds of copper and 2.6 million pounds of molybdenum last year, 2017.
The copper and molybdenum represents the opportunity.
But it is the men and women of Gibraltar that turn that opportunity into value, the benefits of which are spread throughout the community and reach right across the province.
Our employees collectively contribute to the sustainability of this region through innovation and determination.
Each day they commit themselves to operational excellence and efficient production. Their success is our success.
Here’s what else the men and women of Gibraltar do:
They donate their time, enthusiasm and money to local organizations including minor hockey, the United Way, and the Boys and Girls club.
In doing so they strengthen the social and economic fabric of our communities.
Their commitment to safety resulted in a 2017 loss time frequency was 0.6 per 200,000 hours worked, well below the British Columbia mining industry average of 1.1.
In 2017 they planted 65,000 trees at Gibraltar and reclaimed 13 hectares as part of Gibraltar’s on-going commitment to environmental restoration.
From 2009 to 2018 Gibraltar’s energy consumption was reduced by 17 per cent, equivalent to powering 56,400 BC homes for a year.
Beginning in 2008 they dedicated themselves to instituting a systematic program of re-cycling for lubricants tires and scrap metal.
Donated $660,000 to the local United Way Campaign, an employee based program implemented as a way to give back to local communities.
Over $27,000 was donated to the local United Way in 2017.
Richard Tremblay is the vice president and general manager of Gibraltar Mine near Williams Lake.