Winners of Mining Health and Safety Technology Awards Announced

Earlier this month, NIOSH announced the winners of its 2023 Mine Safety and Health Technology Innovations Awards. The awards recognized organizations in three industry sectors.

Imerys won the industrial minerals category award for redesigning a packing station and installing lift-assist devices to address injuries from repetitive motions. According to NIOSH, the changes eliminated musculoskeletal disorder injuries at the station.

Innovative Wireless Technologies and Arch Resources Inc. shared the coal category award for a wireless gas monitor that uses a multisensory platform. The solution increased workers’ situational awareness, NIOSH said.

Hecla Mining won in the metal category for developing a new mining method that reduced the injury frequency rate by more than 50 percent. The new method, “underhand closed bench” mining, allows proactive control of fault-slip seismicity in deep, high-stress, narrow-vein mining.

For more information, read the NIOSH press release. Previous winners are listed on the agency website.