Montana Resources Believes in Courageous Safety Leadership – Receives Governor’s Safety Award

On March 16, 2015, Montana Resources received the Governor’s Safety Award in Helena at the Montana Manufacturing and Trade Chamber Banquet. Montana Resources received the award due to its safety record and compliance with the Montana Safety Culture Act. Pam Bucy (Commissioner of the Dept. of Labor and Industry) presented the award to Mike McGivern, with Governor Bullock and Ambassador Baucus in attendance.

Montana Resources is a copper mine in Butte that employs 350 people and produces 70 million pounds of copper and 8 million pounds of molybdenum annually. Montana Resources began operations in 1986 and has been mining the Continental Pit since that time.

“Our safety performance has been on a steady path of improvement for the last several years and we felt we were in the position to apply for the Governor’s Safety Award which we are honored to receive,” said Mike McGivern, Safety Manager of Montana Resources.

Montana Resources has currently worked 4.4 million hours and 2090 days without a lost time accident and has consistently stayed well below the industry average accident rate.

Mike McGivern credits both top management and a dedicated workforce for the strong safety performance at the mine. “Our President believes zero incidents are achievable and expects all 350 employees to align with that philosophy. The mining environment has numerous hazards but our workforce knows how to assess the hazards and mitigate the risk. If it’s not safe, we don’t do it until we make it safe.”

While the mine prescribes and follows through with rigorous safety requirements that all mines are subjected to, the real key has been to build a safety culture that creates a positive attitude around safety. In 2008, the mine embarked on a program called Courageous Safety Leadership with the vision of improving the safety culture. “At the end of the day, the most valuable thing that comes out of a mine is the miner. We understand that and work together to achieve that vision every day.”