Released Monday, April 28, 2003

MSHA, IMA-NA Form Miner Safety and Health Alliance

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.- The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has formed a safety and health alliance with the Industrial Minerals Association-North America (IMA-NA), a trade association representing North American companies that mine a variety of minerals used in the manufacturing and agricultural industries. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Dave D. Lauriski and IMA-NA President Robert E. Glenn signed the new Alliance Agreement today during the IMA-NA's annual convention here.

"This agreement is a significant step in our efforts to make safety and health a value in the U.S. mining industry," Lauriski said. "MSHA and the IMA-NA will work closely to foster a culture of accident prevention at industrial mineral operations nationwide."

"The industrial minerals industry is thrilled to enter into this partnership with MSHA to improve safety and health performance and to reduce accidents and occupational illnesses in our industry," said Bob Glenn, IMA-NA president. "We are eager to get on with the implementation phase to jointly establish safety and health performance goals along with objective performance metrics."

MSHA and the IMA-NA have agreed to work to improve miner safety and health through cooperative efforts in education and training, technical assistance, mining industry outreach and communications. They will develop safety and health education and training programs tailored for industrial minerals operations, develop best practices, and evaluate exemplary applied engineering controls. They will share results of their joint efforts with others in the mining industry.

"MSHA uses three fundamental tools to improve miner safety and health, which we call the Triangle of Success: enforcement, education and training, and technical assistance," Lauriski said. "This partnership strengthens our education and training efforts and our technical assistance efforts. Our common goal is to send every miner home safe and healthy at the end of their work day."

The agreement between MSHA and the IMA-NA is the latest such alliance agreement in the mining industry.