Miners record dramatic improvement at Turquoise Ridge

Miners record dramatic improvement at Turquoise Ridge

Miners record dramatic improvement at Turquoise Ridge

GOLCONDA - Barrick's Turquoise Ridge Joint Venture achieved a historic milestone last week when employees completed 872,674 hours worked without a lost-time injury. This reflects one full year of safe operations.

"The credit for this achievement goes to the employees," said Nigel Bain, general manager at Turquoise Ridge. "They have remained engaged and focused on eliminating injuries. I respect what they've done to overcome many difficult challenges and move us to a safety record that other mines can look up to."

A lost time incident is defined by the mining industry as an accident or injury causing an employee to miss his or her next scheduled day of work. This latest milestone marks a trend of continuous improvement by Turquoise Ridge in reducing injuries. The focus has been dubbed "the journey to zero" and as a thank you for their commitment to safety workers received a GPS "Navigation to Zero" award.

"This is a testament to the dedication and leadership of the workforce at Turquoise Ridge," said outgoing Safety & Health Superintendent Jim Wieser. "Safety is a focus for everyone from the manager to the latest new hire and that makes TR a great place to work."

Wieser recently accepted a similar position at Barrick's Cortez mine and is in the process of transitioning to his new role.

"It was hard to leave TR, the people are tremendous. It was a pleasure to work there and be a part this achievement," he added.

Turquoise Ridge has also received a number of other awards for improved safety performance throughout the past couple of years. In September 2011, the site was recognized by the Nevada Mining Association at their annual convention. In both 2010 and 2011 the site received internal "Most Improved Small Mine" awards for consistent improvements in safety performance.

"Safety is a marathon. We can't celebrate and then forget," Bain added. "We need to maintain the focus and continue to work towards every person going home safe and healthy every day."

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