It also achieved one year lost time injury-free as of May 22.

The team set a new mine development record by completing 1216m of one development panel throughout the month of June, more than double the usual monthly development.

Redpath announced that in mid-July it reached 90 days total recordable incident free, Redpath coal general manager Gavin Ramage said.

The achievements are a reflection of the strong culture of safety and hard work, he said.

“This is an excellent safety milestone by the team, both for Redpath and for the mining industry itself and, along with the new development record, highlights that a strong commitment to safety and productivity can achieve outstanding results,” he said.

“The project team also completed a very successful production month in May, with no injuries being sustained, and it is our goal to continually build upon our safe operations with productivity achievements that are industry leading.”

The next goal for the project team is to achieve one year total recordable injury free. Ramage said this seemed ambitious but was highly possible if all team members actively contributed to the ongoing reduction of unsafe conditions and unsafe behaviours.

Redpath also provides contract mining and engineering services to the underground metalliferous, coal and civil sectors.

An initiative to raise funds and awareness of depression in the mining community was launched by Redpath on May 10, with a 60-tonne truck painted bright-blue to mark the occasion.

The partnership with national mental health charity beyondblue will run all year, with donations made by Redpath for every hour and tonne of dirt hauled by the blue truck, which has been affectionately nick-named Papa Smurf.

Redpath marketing and communications manager Rhiannon Vines says the issue of depression and anxiety for mine workers is serious and needs more discussion, and is hopeful that this campaign will be the start of much greater focus and funding for the cause.

“The mental health of workers in the mining industry should be as important as their physical health, but this message isn’t pushed as strongly as it needs to be, which is why we are shining the spotlight on it with this new partnership,” Vines said.

“Our bright-blue truck is expected to work between 4000 and 5000 hours this year, so we are aiming for a fundraising target of $50,000 for beyondblue, which would be a fantastic achievement.”