In this newsletter:
• Safety Wins
• Conuma Cares
• Sustainability
• Strong when we Belong
• Employee Shout-outs
• Site News
We are very pleased to share some news about changes in the Conuma safety team.
First, Chris Homister has been promoted to Health and Safety Manager at Willow Creek. Chris first joined the Willow team as a shifter, and then moved into the safety department as a Coordinator. He brings many years of safety and leadership experience to his new role. His positive nature, high energy, and proactive approach to safety is already having a big impact at Willow Creek. Congratulations Chris, well deserved!
The newest member of our safety team is Justin Park, Mine Rescue Manager. Justin comes from an extensive background in mine rescue and safety management in coal mining, and oil and gas. His experience developing mine rescue and emergency response programs will be a great asset to Conuma. In the few weeks since he joined us Justin has hit the ground running, becoming fully engaged with site mine rescue teams and training, as well as working hard at getting a Conuma team ready for the upcoming zone and provincial mine rescue competitions in June. Please extend a warm welcome to Justin when you see him; and offer him your full cooperation in his work toward making our mine rescue program first class.
1 - Chris Homister - Willow Creek Health and Safety Manager
2 - Justin Park - Mine Rescue Manager
3 - Mine Rescue practice at Quintette
4 - Brule D Crew mine rescue team practicing at Quintette
In April
communities of Tumbler Ridge, Chetwynd, and Mackenzie.
The sessions were very well received and appreciated. Over 200 local residents, including students, attended the Bear Awareness Training.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped support, organize, and assist with the setup.
Kale Ericson , Health and Safety Manager, hosted a public Bear Awareness Training session in the local
5 - Kale Ericson - Bear Awareness Training
6 - Bear Awareness in Chetwynd
7 - Bear Awareness in Tumbler Ridge
On May 5th Chetwynd Secondary School hosted a Mental Health Summit. The summit was a dedicated day to raise awareness about mental health issues, including guest speakers share their experience with mental health challenges and how they overcame them. The summit also included 20 breakout sessions, such as yoga, where youth had the opportunity to learn new skills and knowledge about mental health. Overall it was an amazing day and so nice to see our school district working so hard to educate students about the importance of mental health as a key component of overall well-being.
8 - Bear Awareness in Mackenzie
9 - Kristen Ghostkeeper presenting Chetwynd Secondary with a cheque to help support the Mental Health Summit.
Reducing Fuel Wastage – Cutting our costs and helping our planet
On April 1st, every year, we see the fuel price increase in BC by several cents per litre, and that’s no April Fool’s joke! The increase is due to BC’s Carbon Tax and Low-Carbon Fuel Standards, targeting fossil fuel use in everything from UTVs to large haul trucks.
Just like we individually look to save on fuel, we want to do the same at Conuma to continue driving down unit costs. Fuel wastage occurs in various ways, from inefficiently operating equipment to unnecessary idling. This wasted fuel costs our business millions of dollars each year, and the impact is compounded by wasteful greenhouse gases emitted.
Our operational teams are spearheading the program to reduce fuel wastage, and we have developed new reports to help them do this more easily. The reporting takes information from Wenco and the monitoring systems on the equipment and lets each site know which gear has been idling the longest so it can be operated more efficiently with less unnecessary idling. We have also implemented a new business-wide Idle Reduction Policy to enforce shutting down unnecessarily idling equipment
Through these initiatives, we aim to reduce our average idling down to 20%, which is considered best practice. We have a learning curve to go through as we implement these changes, but we know these better practices will save us a lot of money in the future.
If you have any suggestions for ways the Company can reduce fuel wastage, please share these with your supervisor or Brandon Lewis, our Sustainability Coordinator, at blewis@counmacoal.com, by phone or by text to +1 (250)-257-0735.
What’s it like to belong?
Social belonging is a basic human need. When we experience belonging at work, we feel welcome and accepted, and that our contributions are being valued. We’re resilient and better able to handle stress. We are less likely to get, or call in, sick, or to quit. We enjoy coming to work because it gives us a sense of community. We give people the benefit of the doubt when there are misunderstandings, and we are more likely to perform and take ownership of our work.
In our last engagement survey, we found that about half of Conuma employees experience a strong sense and about a quarter experience a somewhat positive sense of belonging. We have made much progress since last year, and we still have much room to improve.
Our workplace will be better in every way if we can improve the sense of belonging that we all feel. So we are introducing Strong When We Belong, an initiative to build a workplace that is aligned with our values – professional, respectful, inclusive, resilient, sustainable and where we work as a team to deliver outstanding results.
Our many different nationalities, ethnicities, genders, ages, backgrounds, family statuses, abilities, and many other parts of identity enrich our lives and bring us strength in terms of creativity and innovation. This initiative will help us lean into that strength in a more intentional way.
Building on the Respectful Workplace elearning, that all employees undertake, and our diversity, equity and inclusion policy, some upcoming Strong When We Belong initiatives include:
• education moments in executive and team meetings
• newsletter features and posters for learning throughout the year
• a workshop about Leading an Equitable and Respectful Workplace in our leadership development program
• and more!
If you have ideas or would like to get involved, please contact
Christy Burres, Director, Talent Management & Workplace Equity CBurres@conumacoal.com
Sources:
1. Mayo Clinic Health System. Is having a sense of belonging important? https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/ishaving-a-sense-of-belongingimportant#:~:text=The%20social%20ties%20that%20accompany,difficult%20times%20in%20our %20lives.
1. Harvard Business Review. The value of belonging at work https://hbr.org/2019/12/the-value-ofbelonging-at-work
Meet Stefan Ebersohn, a Heavy Duty Equipment Technician at the Willow Creek Mine. Stefan and his family recently relocated to Chetwynd from South Africa to work for Conuma. Stefan and his wife, Karin, decided to make the exciting move to Canada to create a better future for themselves and their children.
They have found the transition to Canada both adventurous and challenging, but with their future goals in mind and the support provided by the Company, they have been able adapt to their new environment, and lifestyle.
Stefan has noticed some big differences in working conditions between South Africa and Canada, including the weather and daily terminology. He has found the culture and work environment at Conuma to be different from what he has experienced before and is greatly enjoying the new environment here.
The Ebersohns are thrilled to have achieved things that were previously impossible in South Africa, with their children thriving in school and Karin finding work in Chetwynd. They are embracing all the new experiences and natural beauty of Canada in their new hometown.
For families considering a similar move, the Ebersohns recommend staying positive and embracing each day as a new adventure, focusing on the good days during the difficult ones.
Conuma is proud to have Stefan and his family as part of the team and wishes them all the best as they continue to build their new life here in Canada.
Willow Creek
Willow started mining operations in July of 2018. The 4N1 pit was at the 742 elevation.
Nearly 5 years later, we successfully mined down 156 meters to 586 elevation, and completed 4N1 on April 11, 2023. The last load was loaded out by Anthony Crisfield on the PC2000 and hauled by Lisa Franklin.
This is a huge milestone for Willow Creek, and we’d like to say thank you to everyone who contributed to accomplishing this over the last 5 years
10 - Stefan Ebersohn with his wife and kids
VERY EXCITING NEWS!!!!
April marked an especially important month for Willow Creek and Conuma as a whole. Willow Creek produced its first tonnes of "ultra-low ash" LVPCI. Supported by strong global demand for PCI, Willow Creek producing ultra-low ash coal will directly increase Conuma’s bottom line due to increased product recovery and further reductions in Willow Creek’s operating costs. A high-level cost analysis, given the first successful pattern of 56% ultra low ash, we predict a cost reduction of $1.84/clean coal tonne and an additional $4.4M net revenue increase in 2023. A 100% ultra-low ash product would yield a reduction of $3.23/clean coal tonne and an overall net revenue increase of $7.8M.
11 - First load in 4N1 Pit (2018) 12 - Last load in 4N1 Pit (2023)
Wolverine
What is Safety Culture?
The everyday attitude, values, norms, and beliefs that leaders and staff share about risk and safety. It can be characterized as “the way we do things around here” .
We ask one Supervisor and one employee from every department to take part in this meeting.
All we ask is that everyone who comes - participates in discussions, refrains from judgments, provides honest feedback, and comes with an empty stomach (lunch is provided).
We use this time to openly discuss the perception of safety at our worksite, safety concerns, organizational factors, and seek opinions on how to improve our Safety Culture.
Since these meetings began in January 2023, employee and leadership feedback has been groundbreaking in helping us improve our Safety Culture at the Wolverine.
Thank you to all who have participated and continue to participate in these meetings!
13 - LVPCI Coal at Willow Creek
14 - Wolverine Safety Culture Meeting crew
Brule
At Brule a shout-out to Brule A/B Blast Crew. On April 29th, upon hearing the number of open holes and need for blasting resources at the Willow Creek operation, the blast crew suggested going over there for a full day to assist. This was a great learning experience for both crews at Willow Creek and Brule and stands out as a fantastic example of our OneConuma core value.
Celebrating Quintette!
In celebration of the Quintette mine acquisition, we are pleased to announce two upcoming party dates - Saturday, June 3rd and Wednesday, June 7th in Tumbler Ridge.Cease & Desist will be returning to provide entertainment for these celebrations.
Though the celebrations are only being held in Tumbler Ridge, all Conuma employees are invited to attend. We will provide bus transportation in and out of Chetwynd.
PLEASE RSVP THE DATE YOU WISH TO ATTEND AND FOR BUS TRANSPORTATION TO nstokes@conumacoal.com.
15 - Brule A/B Blast Crew