Vale wins John T. Ryan Trophy for workplace safety at two of its Canadian mines

A group of miners. Photo: Adobe Stock

Two of Vale’s Canadian mines have been recognized for excellence in safety by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM).

Vale’s Voisey’s Bay Mine in Newfoundland & Labrador was awarded the national John T. Ryan Trophy for 2022 in the Select Mines category for its outstanding safety record, while the Coleman Mine in Ontario received the regional John T. Ryan Trophy in the metal mine category.

“This is a well-deserved recognition for every employee in both mines, who work each day to ensure they, and their colleagues go home to their loved ones,” said Alfredo Santana, chief operating officer for Vale’s North Atlantic Operations. “The safety culture demonstrated by the team’s commitment to actively identifying and managing risks in the workplace with potential to cause harm, reinforces that our employees are living Vale’s behavior of being obsessed with safety and risk management.”

These awards, presented at the CIM’s award gala in Montreal, recognize mines in three categories: Metal Mine, Coal Mine and Select Mine, which includes open pit mining. In each category, the award is given to the Canadian mine with the lowest injury frequency during the previous year.

Voisey’s Bay was awarded the National title after achieving a zero-reportable injury rate over more than 2 million hours worked during 2022. This is the eighth year that Voisey’s Bay has received this prestigious award since 2014. Vale’s Coleman Mine was recognized at the regional level with a 0.42 injury rate over more than 1.2 million hours worked last year.

“At Vale it is our responsibility to ensure everyone goes home safe,” Santana said. “Safety is a pre-condition for everything we do, and I am enormously proud that both our sites have been recognized for their commitment to safety this past year.”