Miners more aware, less safe in 2006: survey

Facts ‘N’ Figures

The second annual Canadian Mineral Exploration Health & Safety Survey portrays 2006 as a year of increased health and safety awareness tempered tragically by an increased number of lost-time accidents and fatalities.

The causes of these fatalities, as in previous years, are largely transportation-related. Lost workday accidents continue to be dominated by slips and falls and drilling machinery-related incidents.

The survey had a relatively low response rate. Out of 920 companies contacted, 99 companies — just over 10%, filled out the survey. Of these, 88 companies reported exploration work in Canada in 2006, an increase over the 76 in 2005 — the first year of the survey. Companies reported 415,125 person days of activity.

When asked “Does your organization have a Health and Safety Program?”, out of 90 companies that responded to this question, 57 companies (63%) said yes.

The 2006 survey results are a marked improvement over the 49% in 2005 and 43% in the 2004 survey conducted by the Association for Mineral Exploration in British Columbia (AME BC) of companies active in B.C. and the Yukon.

For 2006, 451 incidents were reported in total. Of these, 358 were reported either as medical aid, first aid, or near misses. Another 32% required medical aid (including 79% of lost workday accidents), 54% required first aid (including 19% of lost workday accidents), and 15% were near misses (including one lost workday accident).

Under-reporting of near misses — incidents without injury — may account for the decline since the 2005 survey when near misses accounted for 49% of incidents. The ratio of incidents without lost workdays to lost workday accidents is 10 to 1.

There were 43 lost workday accidents — almost 10% of all incidents — resulting in 12,453 lost workdays, which includes about 6,000 lost workdays for two deaths. These figures do not include six deaths that were not reported via the questionnaire.

The frequency of lost workday accidents per 200,000 workday hours was 1.7 for surface exploration and geological work (up from 0.5 in 2005) and 2.4 for drilling, underground mining aimed at exploration, and other activities (up from 1.6 in 2005). In 2006, other activities included contracted supply, transportation, and other services not reflected in the 2005 survey.

Generally, although fewer hours were reported in the 2006 survey compared with the 2005 survey, the number of reported lost workday accidents had increased from 2005.

Surface Exploration and Geological Work

Respondents reported 177,876 person days of activity, down from 337,556 person days of activity in 2005. The decline in reporting is due mainly to lack of reporting from several large exploration projects in Quebec, but labour and equipment shortages also contributed.

Of the two fatalities, one happened in the Yukon when a geologist was struck by the front rotor of a helicopter during a toe-in landing. In the second incident, a field assistant in Quebec drowned while attempting to cross a river in an inflatable boat.

There were 15 lost workday accidents (one requiring first aid, 10 requiring medical aid, and one near miss), resulting in 12,068 lost workdays (each fatality represents 6,000 lost workdays; other accidents resulted in 68 lost workdays).

The leading cause of lost workdays and accidents continues to be slips and falls. A geophysicist in Nunavut lost 14 days because he slipped in the snow and broke a finger. Slips and falls resulting in lost workdays generally occur around vehicles and can often be avoided by recognizing hazards, wearing proper footwear, and simply taking one’s time.

A total of 105 incidents without lost workdays were recorded. These incidents can be looked upon as a “lead” indicator. If these incidents (which included 60 requiring first aid, 27 requiring medical aid, and 18 near misses) can be addressed, accidents and fatalities will be minimized or eliminated.

The lost workday accident frequency rate (number of lost workdays per 200,000 exposure hours) was 1.7, up from 0.5 in 2005.

Severity of injury rate (number of lost workdays per 200,000 exposure hours) was 1,356.9, a reflection of the fatalities. Excluding the fatalities, the rate would have been 7.6. Transportation, particularly by helicopter and boat, continues to be the leading factor in fatalities in mineral exploration, and this is reflected in the 2006 statistics.

Diamond Drilling, Underground Mining Directed at Exploration, and Other Activities

Respondents reported 237,249 person days of activity, down from 254,557 person days in 2005. As with the surface exploration numbers, the decline in reporting is due mainly to lack of reporting from several large exploration projects in Quebec, but also due to labour and equipment shortages.

No diamond-drilling fatalities were reported in the survey.

There were 28 lost workday accidents: 24 required medical aid and four required first aid, resulting in 385 lost workdays.

The leading cause of lost workday accidents was slips and falls. For example, a slip during underground exploration resulted in 42 lost workdays, and a slip on ice while disposing of garbage accounted for 27 lost workdays.

Drilling machinery and equipment-related causes are also of great concern. In November, a driller inhaled hot gas from a water supply coil heater, which resulted in a medevac call and 120 lost workdays. Another worker lost his finger in moving machinery and was lost for 56 workdays. A worker had a tendon cut in the hand from a slipped pipe wrench, again resulting in 56 lost workdays.

A total of 143 incidents without lost workdays were recorded. If these incidents (which included 77 requiring first aid, 50 requiring medical aid, and 19 near misses) can be addressed, accidents and fatalities will be minimized or eliminated. In addition, there were three lost workday accidents for which no amount of lost time was recorded — including one driller helper whose small finger was partially amputated.

The lost workday accident frequency rate per 200,000 hours was 2.4, up from 1.6 in 2005. The severity rate throughout Canada for diamond drilling, mining, and other activities was 32.5, compared with 503.7 in 2005 (32.3 excluding a fatality). However, this rate does not reflect six helicopter-related fatalities not reported in the survey.

–The AME BC-PDAC Canadian Mineral Exploration Health & Safety Annual Report 2006 is a joint project between the Toronto-based Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada and Vancouver’s AME BC. The objectives are to track health and safety trends and lay the foundation for increasing health and safety awareness and improving standards in the mineral exploration industry.