Mine Safety Awards

The Mine Safety Awards were established in 1961 by the province to recognize the safety record of mines in this province. Each year, these awards honour mining operations for their safety accomplishments in the previous calendar year.

The Mine Safety Awards are held each year to honour the safest mining operations in B.C. Each year's winners gather the following spring to be presented their awards.

The following awards were handed out on February 26, 2019 at the 57th Annual Mine Safety Awards in Victoria.

Open Pit Mine and Quarry Awards

Certificate of Achievement

Certificates of Achievement were presented to the following operations, all of which had a minimum of 15,000 worker hours and an injury-frequency rate of zero:

  • Lafarge Canada Inc. - Abbotsford Gravel Sales
  • Butler Brothers Supplies Ltd. - Keating Cross Roads Pit
  • CertainTeed Gypsum Canada Inc. - Windermere Mining Operations
  • Mainland Construction Materials - Jamieson Quarry
  • Peace River Coal Inc. - Trend-Roman Mine
  • West Ridge Quarries Ltd. - West Ridge Quarries

Stewart/O'Brian Safety Award

This award was presented to the following operations, all of which logged between 35,000 and 200,000 worker hours and had the lowest injury-frequency rate:

  • 532470 BC Ltd. - Ward Road Quarry
  • Lafarge Canada Inc. - Central Aggregates
  • Lafarge Canada Inc. - Earle Creek
  • Lafarge Canada Inc. - Pitt River Quarries
  • Polaris Materials - Orca Sand & Gravel

Edward Prior Award

This award is presented to operations that logged between 200,000 and 1,000,000 worker hours and had the lowest injury-frequency rate:

  • Conuma Coal Resources Ltd. - Wolverine Mine

John Ash Award

This award is presented to operations that logged a minimum of 1,000,000 worker hours and had the lowest injury-frequency rate:

  • Taseko Mines Ltd. - Gibraltar Mine

Underground Mine Awards

Large Underground Mines Award

This award is presented to operations with more than 240,000 worker hours (one-third of which were underground) and that had the lowest injury-frequency rate during the calendar year:

  • New Gold Inc. – New Afton Mine

Special Commendations and Awards

Chief Inspector's Recognition Award

The Chief Inspector's Recognition Award is presented to mine sites and/or individuals that have accomplished outstanding achievements in health and safety or that have greatly advanced health and safety at mine sites. This award is based on merit and is intended to recognize safety efforts other than safety statistics.  

This year's recipients of the Chief Inspector's Award are:

Chief Inspector of Mines Award for Excellence in Health and Safety

  • CertainTeed Gypsum Canada Inc. - Steve Rasilainen

Steve Rasilainen demonstrates continued exemplary, industry-leading, and proactive health and safety initiatives at Windermere Mining Operations.  His work and focus on continuous improvement and empowering employees has led to ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifications, a BC Occupational Health and Safety Committee Award, 8 Stewart/O'Brian awards, 10 Certificates of Achievement awards and a mine with 18 years of zero lost time accidents over the past 20 years.

Chief Inspector of Mines Award for Commitment to Ongoing Health and Safety Improvement

  • Fireside Minerals Ltd. - Fireside Barite

Fireside Barite received this award for committing to the opportunity to improve work conditions for mine workers through the continued development and implementation of safety measures and occupational health programs.

Chief Inspector of Mines Award for Exemplary Fire and Mine Rescue Service

  • New Gold Inc. - New Afton Fire and Mine Rescue

In 2017 and 2018 New Afton Fire and Mine Rescue responded to emergency situations unrelated to mining activities in the surrounding communities and beyond in the province of B.C. Their proactive and reactive fire and rescue activities in communities and dedication and support saved lives and homes and demonstrates exemplary service.