Ensuring the safety of our workforce is a major preoccupation for our Corporation. We make health and safety a collective responsibility involving all employees and subcontractors as well as the communities neighbouring our mining operations. At SEMAFO, economic and operational considerations do not take priority over worker health and safety. New programs are developed every year to offset the risks inherent to our business, reflecting our ongoing commitment to deepening our understanding. Team members from each site's Health and Safety Department exchange best practices. We work diligently to instill responsibility in each of our employees and to develop initiatives that support our health and safety objectives. This commitment has translated into a corporate Health and Safety Policy that is supported by a management system and applied at all our sites

Promote a culture of health and safety

SEMAFO places great importance on employee health and safety as well as on the constant upgrading of facility safety. We make considerable effort to foster a true culture of safety. In addition to our regulatory requirements, we include awareness sessions, operational training and inspections among our prevention tools.

In 2012, we enhanced our prevention program, putting in place structures and activities to control and eliminate the sources of hazards to health, safety and the physical integrity of our workers. We strongly believe that employee involvement in these structured prevention activities ensures that risks and hazards are assessed, identified and controlled and that injuries, illness and material losses are reduced.

Joint inspection, an excellent prevention activity

One of our prevention activities, the Joint Workplace Inspection Program, was developed in 2012. Inspections focus on worksite elements that can affect employee health and safety and are performed by one supervisor and one employee, both of whom have successfully completed training. This systematic approach allows detailed inspections of all company locations to be carried out on a regular basis, taking into account the dynamics of an ever changing environment. Inspections help detect irregularities related to the physical appearance of the site, work environment, methods, equipment and work organization. Afterward, the corrective and preventive actions are written up in a report, and a follow-up plan to measure the new actions is quickly organized.

Back to top