Nittetsu Mining Co., Ltd.

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Industrial Safety and Health

Industrial Safety and Health Policy

All Nittetsu Mining Group employees work together to ensure industrial safety and health in the course of conducting business based on the following policy as well as the fundamental principle to prioritize safety in all business activities.

  1. Compliance with laws and regulations
    In addition to observing laws, regulations, and internal rules pertaining to industrial safety and health, we work to create safer working environments through ongoing risk assessment and measures to prevent accidents similar to past accidents.
  2. Implementing education and awareness-raising activities
    We continuously implement education and awareness-raising activities to improve our awareness of industrial safety and health.
  3. Creating comfortable working environments
    We make efforts to establish working environments that are sanitary, comfortable, and healthy in both physical and psychological terms.

Established on October 28, 2022

This policy applies to all employees of the Nittetsu Mining Group, as well as to employees of contractors regularly stationed at our business sites. Under this policy, we establish quantitative targets for occupational accidents each year, regularly review progress against these targets, and conduct industrial safety and health activities in consultation with worker representatives through safety and health committees and other channels.

Framework to Promotion and Oversee Initiatives

The Safety Administration Department serves as the department responsible for overseeing industrial safety and health across the Group, while the Director responsible for the Safety Administration Department oversees the status of Group-wide industrial safety and health initiatives.
As part of management-level oversight, the meeting of safety managers is held annually. The meeting is attended by the President, all Directors, all Corporate Executives, and safety supervisors from each business site. Participants report on and discuss the safety performance of each site, trends in occupational accidents, measures to prevent recurrence, and other improvement measures. Through this meeting, the President and all Directors are kept informed of important industrial safety and health issues and review the details and progress of improvement measures. Fatal accidents and accidents or incidents caused by equipment deficiencies are reported to the Board of Directors as appropriate, depending on the circumstances of each case. Occupational accident data is also regularly reported to senior management, and the relevant materials are circulated to the President and all Directors, including Outside Directors. This enables the President and all Directors to continuously monitor the occurrence of occupational accidents and the status of the measures taken in response.
Based on the previous year’s industrial safety and health performance and identified issues, the Safety Administration Department establishes Group-wide industrial safety and health policies and targets each year and provides support and guidance for safety and health activities at each site. Personnel responsible for safety are appointed at each site and work with the Safety Administration Department to promote industrial safety and health activities. At the annual meeting of people in charge of safety, participants share Group-wide policies, initiatives at each site, and information on occupational accidents, and discuss measures to prevent recurrence and address industrial safety and health issues.
Each business site also has safety and health committees comprising representatives of both management and employees. These committees regularly consult with employee representatives on measures to prevent occupational accidents, improve working environments, and manage employee health.

Assessment and Management of Industrial Safety and Health Risks

Risk Assessment and Management

We continuously assess and manage industrial safety and health risks at our existing business sites. Through safety patrols conducted in accordance with annual plans, hazard prediction training at each site, and risk assessments conducted as necessary, we identify potential workplace hazards, prioritize countermeasures, and eliminate or reduce risks. During safety patrols, we review the continued implementation of measures introduced in response to past accidents, the establishment and application of work procedures, unsafe conditions involving equipment and working environments, and the status of corrective actions.
Before commencing new work or introducing new equipment, we conduct industrial safety and health risk assessments and reflect the results in work plans and work procedures.
We also implement safety management measures for work performed by contractors at our business sites. Employees of contractors not regularly stationed at our business sites receive safety induction training before commencing work. We also review necessary documents and provide safety instructions through safety patrols and other activities to help ensure a safe working environment.

Response to Occupational Accidents

When an occupational accident occurs, we investigate the circumstances and causes of the accident and develop and implement measures to prevent recurrence. This process also covers accidents that do not result in absence from work, accidents involving property damage, and traffic accidents. The results of investigations and the resulting countermeasures are shared throughout the Group and reflected in hazard prediction training at each site to help prevent similar accidents.

Initiatives

The mining industry is associated with relatively high safety risks. We have worked to reduce occupational accidents over many years by establishing work procedures and safety equipment standards and enhancing safety education. In recent years, however, signs of an increase in both the number and severity of occupational accidents have emerged against the background of an aging workforce and greater workforce mobility. Since 2023, older workers have accounted for a growing proportion of persons involved in accidents resulting in minor or more serious injuries. Employees with relatively limited work experience also continue to face elevated occupational accident risks.
We recognize these developments as structural issues that must be addressed as society’s workforce continues to age. In addition to preventing the recurrence of accidents by applying lessons learned from past incidents, we are shifting the focus of our safety activities toward creating workplaces where errors are less likely to occur and where any errors that do occur are less likely to result in accidents. We are implementing a range of initiatives, including reviewing equipment and working environments from an age-friendly perspective and through the use of digital technologies, providing opportunities for employees with limited experience, including mid-career hires, to acquire safety knowledge and skills, and providing managers with analyses of occupational accident cases and sharing relevant lessons learned.
By embedding these initiatives as part of a culture of voluntary safety management at each workplace, rather than relying solely on top-down activities, we aim to raise our overall safety standards.

Industrial Safety and Health Targets and Performance Evaluation

We establish industrial safety and health priorities and key performance indicators each year. In 2025, against the Group-wide target　* of zero lost-time accidents and no more than 15 persons involved in occupational accidents, we recorded 11 persons involved in lost-time accidents, comprising six serious injuries and five minor injuries, and a total of 22 persons involved in occupational accidents. The targets were therefore not achieved.
In response to these results, we have set the following Group-wide targets for 2026: zero lost-time accidents; and no more than 15 persons involved in occupational accidents. We have also established the following medium- to long-term targets: reducing the severity rate of lost-time accidents; and increasing the number of business sites achieving zero accidents of any kind.
To achieve these targets, we will focus on the following five priorities in 2026:

  1. Promoting improvements in safety skills and hazard awareness through safety education, training, and seminars
  2. Strengthening the management of work procedures and compliance with those procedures
  3. Confirming and supporting improvements in the safety management systems of each site and the installation of safety equipment, including safety fences
  4. Promoting the implementation of risk assessments, including workplace condition assessments
  5. Promoting the design of working environments that help prevent errors by workers, including older workers

* The Group-wide scope includes Board Members, Corporate Executives and employees of Nittetsu Mining Group companies, onsite contractor employees, and non-resident contractor employees performing work under our safety management.

Industrial Safety and Health Performance

Detailed quantitative data on industrial safety and health is available in the ESG Databook(Japanese version only).

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