Virginia producers honored for safety records

The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals & Energy (DMME) and the Virginia Transportation & Construction Alliance (VTCA) recognized several aggregate producers within the commonwealth for their 2017 safety records.

Eight mines were recognized for having worked with zero accidents and the highest number of production hours in their category for the year without a lost-time accident. The eight mines worked for a total of 777,917 hours.

The mines recognized in the quarry category are:

• Chantilly Crushed Stone‘s Chantilly Quarry in Loudoun County (123,450 hours)
• Vulcan Materials‘ Graham Quarry in Fairfax County (73,302 hours)
• Pounding Mill Quarry Group‘s Bluefield Quarry in Tazwell County (47,718 hours)
• BWI Abingdon’s Abingdon Quarry in Washington County (22,722 hours)

Those recognized in the open pit category are:

• Nestle Purina Petcare’s Nestler Purina Mine in King William County (471,207 hours)
• Luck Stone‘s Caroline Sand & Gravel in Caroline County (25,618 hours)
• King William Sand & Gravel’s King William Mine in King William County (9,426 hours)
• Old River Land Co.’s New Kent #1 Mine (4,474 hours)

“Safety is our first priority at DMME and for the companies operating in the commonwealth,” says Phil Skorupam, DMME’s director of mineral mining. “Our efforts combined with the VTCA, and the safety culture instilled at each of these mines works. Mine operators and employees deserve recognition for working safely and returning home safely every day without injury.”

In 2017, Virginia’s mines employed 3,841 production employees and 5,427 contract employees. Production employees worked 6,851,699 hours, and contract employees worked 741,809 hours producing 68,939,408 tons. More than 300 mineral mines in Virginia worked without having a lost-time accident last year, according to DMME.