Wyodak mine achieves CORESafety certification. (Photo: Wyodak).

The Wyodak mine employs about 60 employees and is permitted to mine 4 million tons of year with 180 million tons of coal in reserve. Daily operations at the mine primarily supply coal to power plants at the adjacent Neil Simpson Complex.

“This is a significant achievement, especially in the midst of the new operational challenges presented by the pandemic,” NMA President and CEO Rich Nolan said. “Our industry has come together to adjust to the changed circumstances that COVID-19 brought, has continued to deliver for our customers and, as the team at Wyodak mine shows, has done so while maintaining the highest standards of safety.”

“Safety is more than talk at the Wyodak mine, it’s the culture every one of us embraces,” Black Hills Energy Vice President of Mine Operations and Generation Marc Ostrem said. “It’s this culture that has made CORESafety a major part of every moment of every day.”

CORESafety is an NMA safety framework whose objective is zero fatalities and a 50% reduction in injury rates within five years of its adoption. Wyodak Resources joins 10 other companies whose operations have been independently certified under NMA’s signature safety initiative.