For the third year in a row Taseko Gibraltar Mines Ltd. received an award during the province’s 55th annual mine safety awards held in Victoria on Monday, Feb. 27.
The John Ash Award is presented to operations that logged a minimum of 1,000,000 worker hours and had the lowest injury-frequency rate.
“Three years in a row is really due to an extraordinary effort,” said Taseko Mines Ltd. vice-president Brian Battison.
“Their record was achieved through an effort that involves daily meetings where safety is talked about with every single crew.”
In 2016, the mine achieved 1.3-million man hours, seeing only one loss-time accident where an employee suffered a torn muscle in their shoulder.
Battison said Gibraltar has a real culture of safety that stems from the men and women taking personal ownership for safety.
He added every month they discuss specific safety items, have a diligent reporting program and have to report any potential hazard or near miss, and discuss it the next day.
“This award is not something based on good luck,” Battison said. “Everybody’s really proud.”
The Mine Safety Awards were established in 1961 by the province to recognize the safety record of mines in this province.
The Mine Safety Awards are held each year to honour the safest mining operations in B.C.