Mere days before the Vale mine accident that killed two workers in Sudbury, Ont., the company was awarded a safety commendation for the sixth time in seven years.
On June 1, Vale was awarded the John T. Ryan Trophy, honouring Canada’s safest metal mine, for two mines in Thompson, Man.
The company’s T1 and Birchtree mines were tied for the lowest in the country in reportable injury frequency per 200,000 work hours, according to the Canadian Institute of Mining, who awards the trophy each year.
The Birchtree mine also won in 2005. The mines taking the title from 2006-2009 were all Vale mines in Sudbury.
Despite these industry commendations for safety, Vale had two recent accidents at the Stobie mine in Sudbury.
In 2006, a worker was crushed by a piece of equipment and killed in the mine. Last December, one piece of equipment crashed into others and injured three miners.
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