Mining or exploration companies that do not have a health and safety program are gambling with severe penalties, says Bill Mercer, chair of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada's (PDAC) Health and Safety Committee.
He spoke to a packed house at the 2008 PDAC International Convention in Toronto.
It appears that helicopters, boats, vehicles and bears are the reasons why explorationists are dying on the job.
The role then is for companies to work more closely with helicopter firms to determine how much experience the pilot has, their company procedures and determine if people are pushing the pilot to fly in unstable weather, he says.
As well, it appears many geologists get into the boat and throw the life jackets aside, since they are not made for a geologist wearing gear, Mercer says.
Vehicle accidents often happen when people have put in long hours at work and yet have to drive another four hours back home. This is a significant issue pertaining to explorationists internationally, Mercer says.
Bears are dangerous. The idea that black bears are not dangerous is a myth and there are plenty of evidence to back this up, he says.
The PDAC Health and Safety Committee is working to put out a guide to help companies establish a health and safety program and protocols to address such challenges.
Mercer deals with the health and safety issues of the mineral exploration business.
Another myth today is that the number of fatalities are up as a result of increased exploration activity.
Mercer says although the numbers are indeed up, it has nothing to do with mineral exploration activity.
"More people, more money does not equate to more accidents," he says.
Approximately 10 per cent of the 1,000 mining houses replied to the PDAC survey on health and safety. Of those, 88 companies work in this country with others working abroad. Sixty three per cent have a health and safety program, which means 37 per cent of them do not. Mercer presumed anywhere from 400 to 800 mining houses that did not respond to the survey do not have a health and safety program in place.
The industry has experienced a lot more exploration initiatives in the last seven years. At the same time, the number of fatalities have risen. But the two are not linked, Mercer says.
In 1996, exploration peaked and yet there were zero fatalities. In 2007, there were four fatalities and six in 2006.
"There have been other peak years where there were no accidents."
From 1980 to 2007 the actual average severity was 277. Interestingly, the number from 2000 to 2007 doubled to 530.
Severity is the number of working days lost due to accidents per 200,000 working hours, Mercer states.
"They are up and they are up as a rate."
"Fatalities has nothing to do with the amount of exploration going on. It really has to do with how we do the exploration.”
Bill C45 has made negligence in the workplace a criminal offence. If a company does not have health and safety systems in place, managers would be in serious trouble should anything happen, Mercer says.
The Bill equates negligence to being the “same as someone using a gun on someone,” he says.
"If that doesn't suggest that this is a serious offence, I would be surprised."
An Ontario geologist is responsible for saveguarding the life of workers and the property.
If one is found guilty of failing to live up to these standards, it is then a case of professional misconduct.
Mercer formed part of the PDAC Health and Safety Committee with the goal of reducing fatalities to zero. They have not achieved their mandate as yet, however, he hopes the new guidelines will bring the organization closer to their target.
