Cleveland-Cliffs’ Babbitt Mine Earns Sentinels of Safety Award
09/25/2008 - Cleveland-Cliffs’ wholly owned Northshore Mining-Babbitt Mine is recognized for outstanding safety performance in 2007 with the industry’s Sentinels of Safety Award in the Large Open Pit category.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc—soon to be known as Cliffs Natural Resources—announced that its wholly owned Northshore Mining-Babbitt Mine in Silver Bay, Minn., has been recognized for outstanding safety performance in 2007 with the industry’s coveted Sentinels of Safety Award. Babbitt Mine received the award in the Large Open Pit category.
Sponsored jointly by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the National Mining Association (NMA), the annual Sentinels of Safety Award program is dedicated to recognition of exceptional safety records, achieved through development of more effective accident-prevention programs, among the nation’s mineral extractive industries. Eligibility for the award is contingent on achieving the greatest number of employee work-hours without a fatal injury or an injury that results in lost workdays.
“Cliffs’ Northshore Mining-Babbitt Mine, which achieved more than 366,000 employee hours without MSHA-reportable incident in 2007, has consistently demonstrated its commitment to employee safety. We are all very proud of our employees’ accomplishments and this well-deserved recognition,” said Donald J. Gallagher, Cliffs’ President, North American Business Unit. “Northshore’s achievement is also a testament to Cliffs’ ongoing commitment to eliminating all injuries, which is embodied in the company’s ‘Road to Zero’ safety campaign.”
“Our company strives for an environment free of incidents through rigorous employee training and education programs,” said Joseph A. Carrabba, Cliffs’ Chairman, President and CEO. “Safe production is a Cliffs core value and a very important part of our company’s culture. We are proud that our Babbitt operation has achieved this quintessential mine safety award and look forward to its continued success, as well as that of our other operations.”
Initiated in 1925, the Sentinels of Safety Award is the oldest established award that recognizes occupational safety. Northshore qualified for the award in 2005 and was first runner-up in 2001 and 2002.
Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc is an international mining company, the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America and a major supplier of metallurgical coal to the global steelmaking industry. The company operates six iron ore mines in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada, and three coking coal mines in West Virginia and Alabama. Cleveland-Cliffs also owns 85% of Portman Limited, a large iron ore mining company in Australia, serving the Asian iron ore markets with direct-shipping fines and lump ore. The company also has a 30% interest in the Amapá Project, a Brazilian iron ore project, and a 45% economic interest in the Sonoma Project, an Australian coking and thermal coal project.
