Our 5th Group Health and Safety Day occurred on April 28 and the reports are starting to come in from our sites all over the world.  The programme this year was very well synchronised so that certain events, such as the H&S Day video and Mr Mittal’s message to all employees, took place at most of our sites. However, although we have a common set of Golden Rules of Safety and standards across our Group, there are always specific local H&S concerns and that is certainly the case for our colleagues on Baffin Island, Canada, who held their first H&S Day. Would you ever imagine that sun safety would be an issue in the arctic circle? Well it is. Find out more…

Our colleague, Dave McCann, is responsible for the mining project sites and led the H&S Day in Baffinland as well as gave us the key highlights for this report.

One April 27, the day before H&S Day,  the small team on site executed an emergency response drill for the purpose of testing their response capability by simulating a compound leg fracture and possible spinal injury to a diamond drill operator working at our remote Steensby Inlet Camp.

“Each time we conduct a different emergency response drill appropriate to the type of work being conducted, it further improves our response capability in the event of a true emergency,” explained Dave.

For ArcelorMittal’s first ever H&S Day in the arctic circle, Dave told us that one important topic for workplace wellness was outdoor sun safety. “The majority of our employees spend most of their day in the out-of-doors. With 24-hour sun light and the impact of reflective UV radiation from the snow pack, long-term exposure here increases the risk of skin cancer.”  

The Baffinland team conducted a good review of the appropriate controls including the use of clothing, hats, sun block lotion, lip balm and industrial safety sunglasses.  “At the end of the discussion, we handed out lip balm with SPF 30 to all employees as a pocket reminder to cover up,” Dave explained.

“A major hazard at our project is working on frozen ice surfaces. There is an ever-constant risk of ice cover failure and breakthrough in to sub-zero degree Celsius water.  We took the opportunity to roll out to our staff and employees at Steensby Inlet a new standard operating procedure for measuring ice thickness and evaluating under what conditions it is safe for equipment and people to work on floating ice covers.”

Our team on Baffin Island are  engaged in advanced exploration and the early phase of engineering.  No construction work will start until the detailed environmental study which has been conducted has been thoroughly reviewed by all parties so that the project is rolled out in the most sustainable manner.

Yet even before mining begins, our Baffin Island team has integrated, right from the start, H&S as an intrinsic part of everything they do. Dave tells us that they invited the Nunavut Mines Safety Inspector to participate in the day’s activities. 

“In addition to participating in the H&S Day, he conducted a workplace inspection in which a large number of staff and employees participated, This provided the opportunity to witness the identification of hazards and appropriate controls through the eyes of a regulatory inspector. We have created a relationship of openness and transparency with regulators that serves us well in fostering a culture of trust with regard to Health and Safety,” Dave concluded.

Photo captions:

1 – The Baffin Island team during H&S Day presentations
2 – Geotechnical on ice drilling at the proposed port location at Steensby Inlet

Collaboration: Dave McCann

From the moment we lifted into the air – (the first of 4 small flights, 6 bus journeys and 8 Health and Safety briefings during the day) – we knew everything about these 2 ArcelorMittal Mines locations was going to be vast in scope.

To put into perspective how remote the Mont-Wright mining complex is, it takes 16 hours to reach by car on the one road in existence that will take you there. When the clouds broke outside the plane window, the terrain was so rugged and uninhabited with almost equal amounts of lakes and inlets; even the idea of a road bisecting that geography seemed ridiculous. Where would it start and where would it end?

When we had recovered from the slap of surprisingly fresh air, our first stop was the enormous open pit mine at Mont-Wright, where almost 50% of ArcelorMittal’s current iron ore reserves are located, followed by a tour of the crusher/concentrator facility. Proof that a big machine is a thing of wonder; as much as a cog of industry.  Next we took a tour around the town of Fermont, built for the miners in the1970s, with its award winning “wall” to block against the north wind.

Next stop on our tour was 400 kilometers away at Port Cartier – the same destination as Mont Wright iron ore, although it travels by ArcelorMittal trains. One of the best sights of the day (beyond the proud and friendly workers we met everywhere along our way) was the machine that tips two train cars over at the same time, emptying them of their loads of fine iron ore… Well, one of the best sights – bed came a close second at 11.30 pm upon my return to Montreal at the end of a long day.

By Mary Carey, Communications, ArcelorMittal Luxembourg

Photo credit: Johann Price

“At ArcelorMittal Mines Canada, we’re all excited! Our 4 brand new locomotives are about to be delivered and as far as I know, these are the 1st locomotives to be ArcelorMittal branded. We just can’t wait and we feel just like kids on Christmas Eve…

To create those branded locomotives, we have worked with a brand consultancy and with GE Transport, who are manufacturers of these locomotives. A whole bunch of people were involved because it was more than just design – we had to consider materials such as 3M™ adhesives, paint, Canadian and Quebec railway regulations, etc. Now that the work is done, we are all very proud and can’t wait to unwrap our present.

ArcelorMittal Mines Canada rail transports iron ore concentrate from Mont-Wright to Port-Cartier. Renowned throughout the North American rail industry, it is considered a benchmark for reliability and innovation. The railway is 420 kilometres long, and comprises 18 sidings, 20 bridges and 5 tunnels.
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Train and maintenance personnel can stop at 2 permanent camps located along the line. The railway is rigorously inspected at regular intervals, while planned maintenance programmes are applied using state-of-the-art instruments and specialised vehicles.

The Company’s rolling stock includes 22 locomotives, some 950 cars, more than 300 utility cars and many different railway maintenance and inspection vehicles. They are maintained at the rail workshops in Port-Cartier, where empty trains are also prepared to leave for Mont-Wright.

On average, 5 full trains return from Mont-Wright each day. Each train, propelled by 2 locomotives, carries 14,900 tonnes of concentrate in 160 cars and measures 1.5 kilometres from nose to tail. A round trip takes about 25 hours. And that’s exactly what is awaiting our ‘brand’ new locomotives.”

By Martin Simard, Communications, ArcelorMittal Mines Canada

January 3, 2010. A fire starts in the village of Tenkoto, in the Kedougou region, Senegal. A fire with such violence had never occurred in this region. In a few minutes the whole village was destroyed: 400 huts were burned, 3 women died and more than 7,000 people were injured and homeless. How to prevent a similar disaster from happening again?

Our Group, through the ArcelorMittal Foundation, is helping rebuild the village. It was initially composed of straw huts and precarious housing. This contributed to rapidly spread the fire.

Our Group’s donation of 10 millions CFA (21,400 US dollars) as requested by the Senegalese government, will contribute to reconstruct the village, this time with safe and sustainable houses.

With the collaboration of other mining companies, funds were raised and will be managed by a committee for transparency.

The mining delegation in charge of the fund raising, local authorities and population expressed their gratitude to our Group. Our colleagues on the spot say they are proud to rebuild a safer Tenkoto.

Collaboration: Oumhany Sy, Corporate Responsibility, ArcelorMittal Senegal
Picture: One child in front of his burned house (tambacounda infos)

On January 5, 2010, ArcelorMittal Mines Canada awarded Captain James Augustine, commander of the BW Arctic, the traditional ‘iron-headed cane’ for being the first transatlantic ore carrier to sail into the Company’s private Canadian harbour in 2010.

The BW Arctic, built in 2001 and flying the Panama flag, docked at 9 a.m. on January 1. The vessel, which has a capacity of 174,285 deadweight tonnes and carries an Indian crew of 26, headed back out to sea two days later after taking on 110,000 tonnes of iron pellets and 49,000 tonnes of iron concentrate for Corus’ Port Talbot steel plant in the United Kingdom. It will take about 10 days to reach its destination across the Atlantic Ocean.

“This shipment is the first of many ArcelorMittal Mines Canada looks forward to in 2010,” said Côme Desmeules, General Manager, Pellet Plant and Port. “Our port is still Canada’s largest private facility in terms of volume handled. We are very proud to receive vessels like the BW Arctic, which carry our quality products around the world.”

In 2009, the ArcelorMittal Mines Canada port received 340 ships and transhipped over 18 million tonnes of iron concentrate and pellets as well as grain for shipment to customers in America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Collaboration: Martin Simard, Quebec Steel and Mining Operations

Our Group is known as the largest steel company in the world, but did you know that we are also one of the biggest companies in the mining sector? Over 40,000 colleagues work in our mines, across 4 continents.

The steel and mining business are closely intertwined, as steelmaking requires basic raw material inputs, especially of iron and coal. In order to supply our plants with these raw materials, our Group has mines in countries such as Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the US, Liberia, Senegal, Mauritania, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, among others.

We recently had the opportunity to interview the Head of our Mining activities, Peter Kukielski, and asked him about pride, a word that means a lot to our mining colleagues.

“Oh, there is a huge amount of pride!” he told us. “Mining is perhaps one of the most essential activities that occurs on this planet, because everything that you buy, eat, drink, see or touch is either mined or grown. Nothing else: either agriculture or mining. Everything else is processing. So it is a fundamental, very earthy thing, and all of us who work in this space are proud of what we do.”

Karaganda is called the miners’ capital of Kazakhstan for a reason. The country’s largest industrial city is bound to the coal mines by its birth and reputation. Its 70-year plus history was created by the miners’, through their work and concerns. Therefore, a professional holiday for miners, traditionally celebrated on the last Sunday of August, is truly the favourite festival for all citizens of the region…

During the Miners’ Day, the best workers are honoured at the miners’ collectives of the Coal division and the ‘Severniy Kuzbass’. They were awarded with gifts and bonuses. The Kazakhstan opera singer, Zhamilya Baspakova (daughter of a metallurgist from ArcelorMittal Temirtau), the laureates of international competitions, V. Stupin, Zh. Orinbasarov and other famous singers and dancers entertained the miners and their families. The more solemn meetings and the sports competitions were held in the miners’ townships at the company’s offices.

Addressing participants at the function, ArcelorMittal Kazakhstan CEO, Dr. Frank Pannier, commented: “Both the steel and mining businesses are still shaky from the trembling global economy. This has had – and still has – an impact on everybody’s lives. We have had to cut our expenses by a maximum amount. But we have managed to maintain employment and we are implementing our investment programme, which is focused on safer working conditions.”

Collaboration: Nikolay Kubrakov, ArcelorMittal Kazakhstan

Gennadiy Chirva is a miner whose family tradition stretches over 416 man-years! Gennadiy has made his own contribution to it – he has been working in mining for almost 37 years. Now he is a chief engineer of deep mining at ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih, in Ukraine…

“My grandfather had 5 children and 12 grandchildren. All of them worked at the mines. The total length of employment of our family amounts to over 400 years. My son Anton is a miner of 4 generation.

I showed him the mine when he was only 6 years old because he asked me to. My grandson is 3 years old and I will not be surprised if he says to me soon: ‘Show me the mine!’ Maybe we have genes of miners. The whole life of our family is connected to the mine. If a member of our family says that he has received the mine with the milk of his mother he repeats the thought of many generations.

I remember my father Grigoriy Chirva. For a quarter of the century he was the chief of the mine #1 named after Artyom. His length of employment was 37 years. He told me 3 precepts of miners:

• to work you have to know
• to know you have to go to the mine
• to go to the mine you have to be healthy

Health and Safety of miners is strictly controlled at ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih. The mine office team understands the importance of their work for the whole mill, especially in the current difficult conditions of the economy.  We believe and know that mining is very important for the company’s future. The depths of Krivbass have many ores. Our family will be ready to take part in the mining of this richness.”

Collaboration: Olga Zakharchenko, the newspaper “Metallurg” journalist, ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih
Photo: Andrey Onischenko, the newspaper “Metallurg” photographer, ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih (Spasiba!!!)

I took this picture at Las Truchas, one of the five mines our Group has in Mexico. It was quite amazing to learn from Raúl Álvarez, a geologist who has been working at the mine for more than 22 years, that the deposit in the background of the image will provide about 12 million tonnes of iron ore (one of the raw materials used to make steel) in the next 8 to 12 years.

An arid landscape (good location for a far west film), a dry heat, the grey of the magnetite and the red of the hematite colouring all the extension of mineral until where the sight can see… and, suddenly, an explosion! Everyday, between 2 and 3pm, coinciding with the change of shift, a controlled blasting takes place to continue extracting the mineral.

Las Truchas is one of the mines our Group has around the world. Thanks to them, we currently meet some 46% of iron ore needs with our own mines, and the plan is to increase this self-sufficiency even further. If one picture is worth a thousand words, you can say that this picture is worth 12 million tonnes!

Collaboration: Internal Communications team, ArcelorMittal Lázaro Cárdenas