The winners of the NSW Minerals Council’s Health, Safety, Environment and Community Awards have been announced, showcasing outstanding contributions to the mining industry.
These awards are held annually by the NSW Minerals Council during its Health, Safety, Environment and Community Conference.
Winners in four categories – Health Excellence, Safety Excellence, Environmental Excellence and Community Excellence – were announced.
Health Excellence Award
The Health Excellence Award was presented to Ampcontrol, a mining supply business that developed the DRIFTEX vehicles.
DRIFTEX vehicles are battery electric vehicles (BEV) designed for underground mining to reduce diesel fuel emissions while underground.
Safety Excellence Award
Newcrest Cadia Operations took home this award for its work in replacing a failing stringer chains on an underground conveyor belt system.
To replace the chains, the Cadia team constructed a new stringer chain telehandler, which included safety features such as electronic crush protection, stability safety interlocks and a modified safety cage.
Environmental Excellence Award
Aurelia took home this award for its Recordable Environmental Incident Frequency Rate (REIFR) measure, which works to enhance a mine’s environmental performance, resulting in year-on-year improvements.
Community Excellence Award
The final award of the night went to Evolution Mining for its work with the local indigenous community through the Galari Agricultural Company.
The company works to develop skills in indigenous youth and in doing so have leased 1500 acres of livestock producing land and renovated a farmhouse to turn it into a cultural hub.
“As always, our 2023 award entrants are of a very high standard demonstrating our industry’s commitment to improving how we operate and to continue to mine responsibly now and in the future,” NSW Minerals Council chief executive Stephen Galilee said.
“Congratulations to all our winners and finalists.”