New Vaal wins prestigious international safety award
On Thursday, 24 October, New Vaal Colliery walked away from MineSafe 2013 with the prestigious John T Ryan Trophy, an international award for the ‘safest coal mine in South Africa’.
Held in Johannesburg, the conference brings together mining companies, the Department of Mineral Resources, unions and health and safety professionals from across the industry to share best practice and successful strategies for Zero Harm.
It is jointly organised by the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Association of Mine Managers of South Africa and the South African Colliery Managers Association.
"This international award speaks to our success as measured across operations globally,” said New Vaal general manager Brent Hamilton, expressing his pride at accepting the award on behalf of the operation’s more than 1,100 employees.
In August, the mine marked 8,000 production shifts without a loss of life, and has worked 346 days without a lost-time injury and 208 scratch-free days.
Senior leaders joined Thermal Coal CEO Godfrey Gomwe in congratulating the team.
“This award is testimony to the dedication and hard work everyone at New Vaal puts into the safety drive,” said Thermal Coal head of operations Dave Haselau.
Head of safety and sustainable development Philip Fourie described the John T Ryan Trophy as ‘the most prestigious award a company can receive for its safety efforts in South Africa’.
“This was brought about through continuous dedication and focus. Congratulations to each and every person at New Vaal for this great achievement.”
Brent urged employees to continue to ensure that they remain a leading example of how mining can be achieved both safely and productively.