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Cargill’s Cayuga Mine in Lansing announced it has gone more than a decade without a lost-time injury. The safety milestone translates to equates to over 4.2 million hours worked safely by mine employees.

"At Cargill, safety is our top priority," said Cargill's Cayuga Mine manager Shawn Wilczynski. "We are committed to sending everyone home safe every day. Our Cayuga Mine team is a great example of executing our commitment to safety."

The Cayuga Mine is 2,300 feet below ground level, making it the deepest in North America. The Lansing mine has about 200 employees, and produces about two million tons of rock salt per year that is mainly used to deice roads in the winter, but also sold for residential use under the Diamond Crystal brand. It is one of three mines owned by Cargill Deicing Technology.

Lost-time injuries require workers to take time off to recover or to be assigned work that is different from their regular assignment while recovering from the injury.

"This is a rare achievement, especially with new employees joining the team throughout the decade," Wilczynski said. "It's the result of our strong safety processes, expectations and culture. But at the end of the day, the focus, passion and dedication to safety for each one of our team members at the Cayuga Mine is what helped us achieve this milestone."

The company estimates its annual contribution to the local and state economy to be $4.6 million to Town of Lansing, $173 million to Tompkins County, and $221 million to New York State. Additionally, employees contribute thousands of volunteer hours to the community, and the company has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to local organizations, including the Lansing Public Library,Woodsedge, Salt Point Cleanup, Lansing High School Scholarships, and the Lansing Robotics Team.

In October the Cayuga Mine was awarded the National Mining Association Sentinels of Safety Award for the third time. Widely considered the nation’s most prestigious mine safety honor, the award is bestowed on coal and mineral mines in 10 categories. The Lansing mine won the award in the 'Large Group' category (Large Underground Nonmetal). To qualify for the award a mining operation must log at least 4,000 hours without a lost-time injury. The award was established by Herbert Hoover in 1925 when he was Secretary of Commerce.

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