Suppliers news: Boart Longyear workers hit safety milestones

Two of Boart Longyear’s (US-OTC: BOARF; ASX: BLY) drilling teams have hit impressive safety streaks.

The firm’s Argentine drilling division has passed 3 million work hours without a lost-time injury (LTI), the last of which occurred in 2009.

“This is a significant accomplishment,” territory manager for Peru and Argentina Travis O’Briant said. “It is a testament to all the hard work our teams do each day, and to their dedication to our core value of safety.”

The field team in Argentina, which consists of all Argentine employees, was expanded by more than 70 helpers and support workers as the company worked through a large program in Santa Cruz province in the second half of 2014.

“High altitudes and extreme weather can make Argentina a challenging place to work,” O’Briant said.

On the other side of the world, Boart’s team at the Northparkes mine site in New South Wales, Australia has stretched its safety streak to two years without a LTI, the entire time it has worked at the site as a drilling contractor.

“Safety is the most important aspect of a job site for Boart Longyear,” territory manager for eastern Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific Harry Mostert said.

The Northparkes copper-gold mine, 360 km west of Sydney, is 80%-owned by China Molybdenum, with Sumitomo holding the rest.

Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Boart Longyear is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2015.