INNOVATION September-October 2017

mineral title are classified as “Mines” per the Act and Regulations). According to Ian Paterson, former chair of the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia (AMEBC) Exploration Health and Safety Committee, most mining/exploration companies, juniors and seniors, are more aware of workplace health and safety these days and regularly have programs installed in their management systems. In fact, WorkSafeBC premiums for mineral exploration have gone down 250 percent during the last 30 years. However, he says that the AME – PDAC (Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada) Exploration Safety Survey statistics over the past 35 years show that when mineral exploration expenditures double, fatalities and accident frequency can quadruple. While the causes of these trends are complex, common contributing factors include the increased use of relatively inexperienced personnel coming into the workforce and increased use of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. With this in mind, health and safety is all the more relevant in 2017 as the exploration industry appears to be coming out of the recent “bust” period of the past five years. Accompanying the change in fortunes and expected exploration expenditures is a continuing shift in the industry’s corporate culture. As a result, more progressive health and safety approaches are being adopted. To explore how personnel health and safety in mineral exploration and mining has progressed, we asked six industry experts for their perspectives. Peter Holbek, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration, Copper Mountain Mining Corporation, has 40 years of experience in mineral exploration and mine development, and was the recipient of the E.A. Scholtz Medal for Excellence in Mine Development (2013), awarded by AMEBC. Jack Denny, past president of the Chamber of Mines of Eastern BC, is a long-time independent prospector who has worked for a variety of companies for over 40 years. Harvey Tremblay is the founder and chairman of Hy-Tech Drilling Ltd., and a

A precarious makeshift trench. An example of artisanal mining, in absence of health and safety standards. P hoto : W arren M irko

who don’t use all of their safety gear. Companies are also much more aware of and concerned about safety. JANICE FINGLER, P.GEO. – Over the years, we’ve also seen safety improvements at drill rigs by the installation of “guards” over the high speed rotating drill stem of drill rigs. The use of guards is becoming closer to the norm rather than the rule. Another change has been the availability of more diverse and better modes of communication to support field crews and emergency response—radios, repeaters, emergency beacons, satellite phones, and aircraft trackers. PETER HOLBEK, P.GEO. – In the early years health and safety wasn’t necessarily given much of a priority in exploration; essentially it was left to experience and common sense. However, mentoring of new recruits by the more experienced workers was more prevalent than it may be now. When the large oil companies got involved in mining and mineral exploration, there was a general upgrade or a more deliberate focus on health and safety, but it took time to seep into the junior sector. The concept of health and safety as something to be managed and implemented within the exploration sector may have started 37 years ago when Dave Barr got the BC and Yukon Chamber of Mines on board. DAVID THOMPSON, P.GEO. – Typically, the most dangerous activities in exploration are associated with drilling and transportation (in particular with the use of helicopters), which is evidenced in the health and safety statistics gathered through annual surveys conducted by

past director of the Canadian Diamond Drilling Association (CDDA), and AMEBC. He received the David Barr Award (2010) for leadership and innovation in mineral exploration, health and safety from AMEBC. Janice Fingler, P.Geo., PMP, is chair of the AMEBC Exploration Health and Safety Committee. She has more than 25 years of experience as a professional geologist and project manager, helping junior mineral exploration companies and their major company partners achieve project goals. Dave Thompson, P.Geo,. has been involved in the mining industry since 1982 and has focused on coal exploration and mining for the past 12 years. As the former resource manager for Cardero Coal Ltd., he was responsible for the exploration and development of the Carbon Creek resource in northeast BC. JACK DENNY – The biggest difference I have noticed is the culture change that has occurred in safety-related issues. In the “old days,” those who wore a complete selection of safety gear were the exception and were looked upon as wimps. Due to the nature of mining exploration and the often small crew size, it is not unusual for a worker to perform several jobs per day with different types of equipment. It used to be highly unusual to even have access to all of the safety equipment required for each job. If the worker didn’t provide it himself, it didn’t exist. Now things have changed and the oddballs are the ones Generally, how has health and safety in mining and exploration field work progressed over the past 30 years?

I N N O V A T I O N

S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7

2 1