The National Mining Association’s (NMA) board of directors at its March 30 meeting formally endorsed a new workplace safety and health paradigm, CORESafety, a scalable safety and health management system specifically designed for U.S. mining operations. CORESafety provides a comprehensive pathway to achieve within five years mining’s goal of eliminating fatalities and reducing the rate of mining injuries by 50 percent.

Commenting on Friday’s action, NMA Board Chairman Gregory Boyce, chairman and CEO of Peabody, said, “Today is an important day for U.S. mining. CORESafety embodies our commitment to the safety and health of our employees. I am gratified companies that directly employ more than 100,000 Americans are participating in CORESafety, even at this early date.”

Frank McAllister, vice chairman of NMA and chairman and CEO of Stillwater Mining, added, “CORESafety is an industry essential, first calling upon us to do our best, then providing us with the tools to continuously improve safety and health performance at U.S. mining.”

CORESafety is the result of nearly two years of industry-wide collaboration and is built on the most effective workplace practices used worldwide to stop accidents before they happen. CORESafety’s development was led by a CEO task force, currently chaired by Steven F. Leer, chairman and CEO of Arch Coal Inc., who said about safety, “It’s an element of who and what we are. It’s a core value.”

The effort relied on a working group of mine safety professionals that incorporated elements of leadership and culture—which are essential for safety excellence—in a system that is adaptable to the operations of all mining companies and designed to complement existing safety practices. The system stresses continuous improvement in safety and health and demonstrates the determination and commitment of U.S. mining leaders to remain a model for the world.

NMA President and CEO Hal Quinn stressed CORESafety has been a member-driven effort. “Many NMA member companies are currently participating in CORESafety and will be assisting others that are just beginning their involvement. This is a journey we are taking together, and we look forward to the important benefits we can achieve for the entire mining community.”

Participating CORESafety companies include:

Alpha Natural Resources, LLC
AngloGold Ashanti North America Inc.
Arch Coal, Inc.
Barrick Gold of North America
Chevron Mining Inc.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.
Cloud Peak Energy Resources, LLC
Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp.
Compass Minerals
CONSOL Energy Inc.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold
Graymont
Hallador Energy Company
Hecla Mining Company
J.R. Simplot Company
Kinross Gold USA, Inc.
Luminant
Molycorp, Inc.
Newmont Mining Corporation
PacifiCorp Energy
Patriot Coal Corporation
Peabody
Prairie State Generating Company, LLC
Rio Tinto Minerals
Rio Tinto/Kennecott Utah Copper
Rosebud Mining Company
Stillwater Mining Company
Teck American Incorporated

The CORESafety management system is available at www.coresafety.org.