BATHURST, NB, May 8, 2012 /CNW/ - Xstrata Zinc's Brunswick Mine has been awarded the prestigious John T. Ryan award for the safest metal mine in Canada.
The John T. Ryan Awards are presented to mines in Canada which have experienced the lowest accident frequency during the year, with three national trophies granted across metal, coal and select mine categories.
This first national award tops Brunswick Mine's existing cache of eight regional honours for Eastern Canada. The mine received recognition for its 2011 safety performance, a year in which its lost time injury and all incident frequency rates were at their lowest since operations began in 1964.
Brunswick Mine General Manager Greg Ashe said: "I am extremely proud that Brunswick's workforce has been awarded our industry's most prestigious safety award. It's especially significant because as we come near to the end of the life of the Brunswick Mine, the challenges of safely mining the remaining ore become greater. This award is a recognition of the tremendous effort that has gone into creating our 'safety first' culture and I can think of no better way to crown nearly half a century of operations than by receiving this honour."
Located in northern New Brunswick approximately 30 kilometers southwest of the city of Bathurst, the mine employs approximately 900 people and produces zinc, lead, copper and bulk concentrates. After almost half a century of mine production, in which more than 134 million tonnes of ore has been extracted, Xstrata Zinc Canada gave official one-year notice of closure to its workforce and key stakeholders this spring.
United Steelworkers Local 5385 President, Euclide Haché, said: "The workforce recognizes this is a great achievement and in combination with Brunswick's Management Team and our local union, we will continue to make progress by discovering and eliminating risk exposures. As the closure of the mine approaches, the importance of safety becomes ever clearer as miners prepare for the next phases of their lives. Post closure, our workers will have a number of choices as to what to do next, but all of these choices depend upon us having our health."
General Manager, Greg Ashe and Union President, Euclide Haché accepted the award on behalf of Brunswick Mine at a gala awards ceremony on May 7th at the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (C.I.M.) Conference in Edmonton Alberta.
About Xstrata Zinc
Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, we are one of the world's largest vertically integrated producers of zinc, with an annual production of about a million tons of mined zinc. We have operations in Australia, America, and Europe, including world-class mines and deposits in Northern and East Australia, Canada and Peru, and processing and refining facilities in Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Zinc is a versatile material that plays a vital role in modern society. It is an essential nutrient in human health and very useful in crop yield improvement. Zinc in galvanizing protects steel against corrosion for its use in automobiles, buildings and others. It is also used for the production of zinc die-casting alloys, brass and oxide, and in manufacturing batteries and other electrical and consumer goods.
For more information, visit www.xstratazinc.com
Image with caption: "Brunswick Mine Earns Prestigious John T. Ryan Safety Award for the Safest Metal Mine in Canada. (CNW Group/XSTRATA ZINC - BRUNSWICK MINE)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120508_C5331_PHOTO_EN_13283.jpg
Media Contact:
Brad Ryder
Xstrata Zinc, Corporate Affairs
(416) 775-1434 or (647) 534-4126
BRyde[email protected]
James Cormier
Brunswick Mine
(506) 547-6955
JCo[email protected]
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