SAFETY
THE MISSING IMPERATIVE:
PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AND SAFETY IN MINING I
t is no hidden fact that mining can be a dangerous industry. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) reports that Canada’s mining industry employs more than 400,000 workers in mineral extraction, smelting, fabrication and manufacturing. “Although injuries and fatalities have been on the decline, and despite a core emphasis on safety culture, there are still workers who lose their lives or are injured while performing their jobs in mining environments,” reads CCOHS’s Drilling Down on Mine Safety report, which also describes hazards as “an everyday, constant reality” in the sector. There are a variety of systems in place to try and prevent these accidents, including compulsory training programs, simulation tests, blasting training and licensing, and up-to-date safety legislation and standards. Many companies, though implementing 20 | CANADIAN
MINING JOURNAL
and reiterating their safety protocols, experience a rise in critical safety incidents and fatalities. This rise can be linked to the correlation of physical safety and psychological safety in the workplace. Safety incidents can have long-lasting impacts on a company’s reputation and investment viability. This is something that Canadian mining companies can’t afford as the competition for skilled workers is fierce, causing a skills gap in the sector. Also, at the forefront of conversations amongst mining companies is the importance of ESG – environmental, social, and governance – which is a formula being widely discussed and used as the baseline for the re-evaluation of safety, ethics, and overall culture within organizations. Now is the time for mining companies to focus on psychological safety, to both improve their reputation www.canadianminingjournal.com
Image: tap10/istock
By Susan Eick
