WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Mining Association (NMA) today recognized Wyodak Resources Development Corporation for achieving CORESafety® certification at its Wyodak Mine, located near Gillette, Wyo. The Wyodak Mine is a subsidiary of Black Hills Corp.
In operation since 1922, Wyodak Resources Development Corporation is the oldest continuously operating surface coal mine in the United States and the oldest coal mine in the Powder River Basin. The Wyodak Mine places a high emphasis on safety and environmental compliance. It employs about 60 employees and is permitted to mine approximately 4 millions tons of year with 180 million tons of coal in reserve. Daily operations at the mine primarily supply coal to power plants at the adjacent Neil Simpson Complex.
“This is a significant achievement, especially in the midst of the new operational challenges presented by the pandemic,” said Rich Nolan, NMA President and CEO. “Our industry has come together to adjust to the changed circumstances that COVID-19 brought, has continued to deliver for our customers and, as the team at Wyodak Mine shows, has done so while maintaining the highest standards of safety.”
“Safety is more than talk at the Wyodak Mine, it’s the culture every one of us embraces,” said Marc Ostrem, Vice President of Mine Operations and Generation at Black Hills Energy. “It’s this culture that has made CORESafety a major part of every moment of every day.”
CORESafety is an NMA safety framework whose objective is zero fatalities and a 50 percent reduction in injury rates within five years of its adoption. Wyodak Resources joins 10 other companies whose operations have been independently certified under NMA’s signature safety initiative.
CORESafety is a risk-based mine safety and health management system developed by NMA. CORESafety participants agree to: commit to the CORESafety system; implement a functionally-equivalent version of the CORESafety safety and health management system; submit to NMA annual self-assessments of progress toward implementation of the CORESafety safety and health management system; and, if the company elects to become or maintain CORESafety certification, complete a thorough third-party assessment of its safety and health management system to verify that it is functionally equivalent to CORESafety and submit the assessment report to NMA. Shelley Wickman with SGW Management System Specialist, Inc., conducted the independent, third-party certification audit.
For more information on the CORESafety system, visit www.coresafety.org, and to view a list of participating companies click here.
Black Hills Corporation
Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) is a customer focused, growth-oriented utility company with a tradition of improving life with energy and a vision to be the energy partner of choice. Based in Rapid City, South Dakota, the company serves 1.3 million natural gas and electric utility customers in eight states: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. More information is available at www.blackhillscorp.com.
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