By David McCallum Price
MRC Recruiter
With two weeks to flatten the curve transforming into twelve months and counting, I decided to reach out to people in the U.S. mining industry to try and gauge the effects of the COVID-19 virus and the state and government restrictions that followed.
I spoke to Keith Jones, General Manager of underground mine contracting company Small Mine Development (SMD) LLC. SMD operates on seven sites throughout Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado, employing some 500 people.
DMP: Thanks very much for taking the time out to speak with me, Keith. Tell me, what was the company’s initial response once local and state governments began reacting to the virus?
KJ: Early on (March) following CDC guidelines and OHSA best practices, we developed a response plan. As our business operates across multiple states this included issuing documentation to employees, detailing how they were essential workers so could travel freely and without issue from their home bases to work sites across state lines.
DMP: Explain some of the impacts of the CDC guidelines on the day-to-day running of the company, if you will?
KJ: Part of the CDC guidelines detailed social distancing requirements and this manifested itself as a 50% capacity ruling. We transfer our people to the site via minivan, so this necessitated the purchase of extra vans. Transportation underground to the working face was staggered to limit the number of workers in the cage at one time. Compliance with this requirement also necessitated running three back-to-back safety meetings per shift instead of the normal one.
DMP: So, inconveniences, but by no means insurmountable problems.
KJ: Absolutely not.
DMP: What sort of screening process did you put in place?
KJ: We were initially screening via forehead temperature readings in the car park before getting in the vans. However, we switched to having the guys doing their own temperature screenings at home before the van ride to the site.
DMP: Were you finding that assessing the workers in the car park didn’t allow you to react in an expedient manner to anyone with potential symptoms?
KJ: That’s correct, yes.
DMP: You mentioned the effects of the social distancing requirement, what other ways have you felt the impact?
KJ: We generally run five-man crews underground so if one of the individuals tested positive, we worked on the assumption that the whole crew could potentially be infected. Given the close proximity they operate in, we would shut down the whole job for a week as a precaution.
DMP: Are you satisfied overall with how the systems you have put in place have worked?
KJ: Given the circumstances, I think our team has done a great job. So far, we have only had 30 cases (equating to around 6% of the workforce) with no fatalities. In Northeast Nevada, our infection rate has mirrored the overall state figure of 8%.
DMP: It’s been a trying time for most people, but can you think of any positives that have come out of this?
KJ: It’s funny you ask that, but the guys are paying more attention to cleaning the equipment — making sure it’s sanitized before they use it. If this becomes a habit, I guess it could help limit the spread of normal everyday infections once we get through this.
DMP: As the vaccine rollout continues, the hope is for a return to something resembling normal sooner rather than later. However, there are many questions still to be answered as to their efficacy and it is possible that social distancing guidelines and mask mandates could stay in place in some shape or form for the majority of 2021.
With the promise of economic recovery around the corner, the commodities markets are roaring and the mining industry looks to be entering a very positive phase. Despite the uncertainties caused by the virus and the subsequent reactions to it, I think it is safe to say that the men and women who ply their trades in our business will rise up to meet any and all challenges head-on. How the industry is coping with this situation highlights something that we already knew–miners are an adaptable and resilient bunch.
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