Virginia Mineral Mine Safety Awards
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The Virginia Department of Energy - Division of Mineral Mining (DMM) and the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance (VTCA) are accepting applications for the annual Virginia Mineral Mine Safety Awards, a very successful program that since its inception in 2007 has recognized 104 companies and 460 mineral miners for outstanding safety achievements in Virginia’s mineral mining industry. The 460 mineral miners recognized represent a cumulative total of 11,142 years working without a lost time injury. In 2021, DMM recognized 63 miners who represented a cumulative total of 1,598 years working in the mineral mining industry without a lost time injury.
This year, DMM and VTCA will again recognize individuals reaching 15-, 20-, 25-, 30-, 35-, 40-, and 45-years without lost time injury milestones in calendar year 2021.
The company award program will follow the same procedures as last year:
- mine companies will not need to submit an application to be considered for the mine company awards. DMM/VTCA will determine the winner based on CY2021 data for all mines within a category.
- the quarry category will include the following 4 award ranges: 0 to 25,000 employee hours; 25,000 to 50,000 employee hours; 50,000 to 75,000 employee hours; and, 75,000 and above employee hours.
- the open pit category will include the following 4 award ranges: 0 to 5,000 employee hours; 5,000 to 10,000 employee hours; 10,000 to 30,000 employee hours; and, 30,000 and above employee hours.
This year, in addition to the company and individual safety awards, DMM/VTCA would like to recognize those companies with exemplary safety records that deserve recognition but do not receive an award in one of the above award categories. For example, if your mine site has worked for 10 or more years without a lost time accident or has other notable safety achievements, DMM/VTCA will review and consider how best to recognize notable achievements. Please contact your mine inspector or Jeff Stewart (jeff.stewart@energy.viginia.gov) if you would like to nominate your mine site for special recognition.
A listing of the awards criteria is described below and attached for your information. No application is necessary to be considered for a company award. Individual award nominations will be accepted through June 17, 2022. Applications may be emailed to jeff.stewart@energy.virginia.gov, faxed to Jeff Stewart (fax # 434-951-6325), or mailed to Jeff Stewart at the Department of Energy, Division of Mineral Mining, 900 Natural Resources Drive, Suite 400, Charlottesville, VA 22903.
Award Criteria
Virginia Mineral Mine Safety Awards will be evaluated for the following categories: Quarry (Surface and Underground) and Open Pit (Sand, Clay, Dredge, Dragline, etc.). Four awards will be given in each category to recognize various size operations. The period covered for the safety awards program is from January 1 to December 31, 2021.
Quarry
- 0 – 25,000 employee hours
- 25,000 – 50,000 employee hours
- 50,000 – 75,000 employee hours
- 75,000+ employee hours
Open Pit
- 0 - 5,000 employee hours
- 5,000 – 10,000 employee hours
- 10,000 – 30,000 employee hours
- 30,000+ employee hours
The mine operation having the highest number of employee hours, with no occupational injuries, in each category, will receive the Virginia Mineral Mine Safety Award. If no mine meets this requirement, an award may be given to the mine having the lowest incident rate (employee hours worked vs. occupational injuries) for the calendar year, in that category. The company mine safety awards will be presented July 14-17, 2022, at the VTCA Annual Meeting at the Marriott Virginia Beach Oceanfront in Virginia Beach.
Individual employee safety awards will be considered for persons who reach fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, thirty, thirty-five or more, forty or more, or forty-five or more consecutive years in the mining industry without a lost time injury during the calendar year. All individual award winners will receive a certificate acknowledging their achievement. Individual employee safety awards will be presented to the winners at their work location either by DMM/VTCA or mine management personnel.
DMM and VTCA believe that the Virginia Mineral Mine Safety Award program provides an incentive to your employees to work with care, and instills pride in those responsible for a winning effort. We hope that you will participate in this safety program.
If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact any Division of Mineral Mining representative or call Jeff Stewart at 434-951-6315. We look forward to receiving your response.
