Los Filos and Cerro Negro Pass Safety Milestones

May 23, 2014 2:00 PM ET

This year we want to congratulate our mine sites Los Filos and Cerro Negro, the 2013 winners of the 2013 Safety Bear Trophies.  Los Filos was the winner of the trophy for Best Overall Safety Performance and Cerro Negro was the winner of the trophy for Most Improved Safety Performance.

The Safety Bear trophies recognize those sites that have achieved excellent safety results during the previous year. The sites are evaluated based on their All Injury Frequency Rate (AIFR) as well as their overall commitment to safety and creating a culture of safety at the site.

In 2013 Los Filos achieved a 51% improvement on their 2012 All Injury Frequency Rate. Los Filos showed their commitment to improving safety by conducting a study into night-shift fatigue and the establishment of a safety working group with the teams at Peñasquito and El Sauzal.  The exceptional commitment of their management team to increase safety awareness and engagement is a model for the whole industry. 

Over the past year, Cerro Negro has worked hard to improve safety at the site as it is an active construction site that is also running underground mining operations. The workplace is constantly changing as the mine’s facilities are built. With the site set to go into full operation this year, the team has restructured and improved their investigations. In 2013 Cerro Negro achieved a massive 74% improvement from their 2012 All Injury Frequency Rate results. Most significantly, Cerro Negro has reached a milestone achievement of 3 million consecutive hours without a Lost Time Incident (LTI).  “It's a testament to all of our departments, and each and every one of our employees and contractors working together to improve safety,” said Alastair Still, the project’s Director and General Manager. “And especially our Safety Department, who have guided us and provided the tools and training for safe gold production.”

We are extremely proud of the hard work and commitment to safe production from everyone at Los Filos and Cerro Negro. It is only through continuous action and improvement, that we will make Goldcorp Safe Enough for Our Families. The efforts put in by Los Filos and Cerro Negro exemplify our mission to create a sustainable safety culture and is a milestone in our journey to achieve 100% safe production and operational excellence.

*The Safety Bear trophies are carved from Brazilian soapstone by Canadian artist, Allan Waidmann and are symbolic of the qualities these awards recognize. The trophy for Best Safety Performance depicts a bear with a fish in its mouth. In Canadian First nation culture, this is a symbol of the successful achievement of a task or goal. The solid bronze base is consistent with the strength and presence shown by a bear.

**The trophy for Most Improved Safety Performance depicts a mother bear with her cub. This symbolizes the nurturing of a family and the learning that needs to occur to improve, become successful and independent. The wooden base represents growth.