ALKANE Resources and its Dubbo-based NSW general manager Mike Sutherland had reason to celebrate after taking out two categories at a major mining awards ceremony on Monday night.
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The 2015 Health, Safety, Environment and Community Awards were announced at a dinner in the Hunter region this week.
Mr Sutherland won two separate awards recognising his dedication to leading practice.
The first was the Environment Excellence award for his commitment to preserving the pink-tailed worm-lizard, an endangered species at Alkane's Dubbo zirconia mine.
According to the award submission, "a new approach involving an experienced and diverse ecological team engaging local community volunteers was used to ensure that this threatened species was protected beyond the life of the project".
Mr Sutherland also received the Environment and Community Leadership award.
An employee of Alkane Resources for the past 20 years, Mr Sutherland was recognised as the Dubbo face of the company.
He was the first person employed at the Peak Hill Gold Mine as an environment supervisor in 1995 and was one of two people from that operation kept on post-closure in 2005.
In being presented with the award, he was described as "a former farmer, long-time local, passionate environmentalist and supporter of indigenous cultural heritage and employment".
NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said the awards encouraged NSW miners to identify where health, safety and environmental aspects of their operations could be improved, and then design and put in place solutions that could be adopted across the industry.
