Energy Resources of Australia Ltd - Ranger Mine is located about 255
kilometres east of Darwin in the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern
Territory. The Ranger project is surrounded by Kakadu National Park
which is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. . Ranger Mine operates the largest uranium mine and processing plant in
Australia. It is designed to produce 3000 tonnes of uranium oxide per
year, but presently is producing a little less than one half that figure due to
the depressed uranium market. The safety performance of the employees and Ranger as a whole
continues to improve. The lost time injuries (LTI) have significantly
reduced from 74 in 1985 to five in 1994. The total days lost due to LTIs
have gone from 1543 to 14. These significant improvements have
reflected directly on workers' compensation premiums in which a
four-fold reduction has occurred. It is estimated that the actual monetary
saving to the company is about $1.3 million per year and directly reports
to the profit of the company. There is also an obvious and significant
reduction in the less quantifiable costs such as the suffering of the injured
employees and cost to society. The paper will review the various
initiatives introduced and assess their effectiveness. Performance improvement is primarily dependent on the commitment,
introduction of various initiatives and the subsequent change in workplace
culture.