In March 2022, Wyodak Resources Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Black Hills Corp., was recognized for achieving CORESafety certification at its Wyodak Mine in Wyoming. This is an enormous occasion for celebration as it exemplifies the mining industry’s focus on miner safety.
Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association (NMA), said of the milestone, “This is a significant achievement, especially in the midst of the new operational challenges presented by the pandemic. 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.”
The Wyodak Mine employs about 60 employees and primarily supplies coal to power plants at the adjacent Neil Simpson Complex.
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 the NMA’s signature safety initiative.