When Newcrest Mining needed to upgrade their dump truck trays at the Red Chris mine, the mining operations team came up with a unique idea. Why not paint them with colourful designs representative of things the company cares about?
They started with a bright pink tray for breast cancer awareness and have since added a number of others. These include blue for prostate cancer awareness and green for mental health awareness.
The company also wanted to pay homage to the three nations working in partnership on the site adding Canadian, Australian and Tahltan-themed trays.
“Newcrest takes social responsibility, including our relationship with the Tahltan Nation – on whose Territory our Red Chris mine is located - seriously,” said Janine Bedford, Newcrest’s superintendent of community relations and social performance. “It is encouraging to see how well all our trays have been received. The Tahltan tray, in particular, is proving to be a source of pride for Tahltan truck drivers at Red Chris and allows us to acknowledge the breadth of people and culture in our workforce.”
The Tahltan Central Government (TCG) designed its tray to reflect the culture of the nation.
“The Tahltan Nation establishes, encourages and demands meaningful engagement that leads to true partnerships, ones where we are respected,” said Chad Norman Day, TCG president. “Credit to the Tahltan Central Government’s own communications department for the design and Newcrest Mining/Red Chris for doing this.”
The latest tray is painted with the values and behaviours of the company’s NewSafe department, a program implemented in 2015 that Newcrest says encourages a holistic approach to safety culture.
Aside from being colurful, the new trays also helps Red Chris to be more environmentally friendly, the company says.
“Weighing less than the previous trays that needed to be replaced, the new themed trays can carry 230 tonnes per load compared to 209 and are forecasted to be more fuel-efficient,” a press release stated. “This means that the additional payload over the new fleet equates to the addition of another truck on site without the carbon footprint – a win-win for the Newcrest Red Chris site.”
They plan to add more themed trays, but are currently keeping the details under wraps.
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