De Beers Victor diamond mine was presented with the John T. Ryan Award for 2015 at the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Awards Gala in Vancouver, May 2.
Ontario’s only diamond mine recorded zero lost time incidents and had the lowest overall reportable injury rate among all mines in Ontario.
In a news release, Kim Truter, De Beers Canada CEO, congratulated the Victor team near Attawapiskat for their outstanding safety performance.
"I am extremely proud of the Victor Mine team, who consistently demonstrate safety leadership for not only De Beers in Canada, but for De Beers and Anglo American around the world. This prestigious award is a testament to their ongoing commitment to mining diamonds safely and without harm to people or the environment."
The Victor Mine is a remote fly-in/fly-out open pit operation in the James Bay lowlands.
Mine general manager James Kirby, who accepted the award, said it’s the employees and contract partners who have embraced the responsibility for safety in all areas.
"From veterans to new employees, the positive and proactive safety culture is embedded across all aspects of the mine where everyone understands if a task can't be done safety, we'll stop and make it safe. It's not just De Beers' employees who are living up to this commitment, but also our contract partners who share this recognition as we pull together as one team to make our workplace safe for all."
