Article courtesy of The Australian Mining
29.01.2026
Hancock’s Brilliant at the Basics (B@TB) OHS program continues to succeed because of its focus on personal accountability, consistent safety behaviours and team-wide vigilance.
Hancock Iron Ore received the Australian Mining Prospect Awards Excellence in Mine Safety, OH&S award last year in recognition of its highly successful initiative, Brilliant at the Basics (B@TB).
Launched in July 2024, the B@TB program serves as the core philosophy for campaigns including ‘My Commitment’ and ‘Safer Summer’, each of which is aimed at reinforcing personal accountability, consistent safety behaviours and team-wide vigilance.
Rather than focusing solely on rules or procedures, B@TB brings together critical safety processes, leadership behaviours and a values-based approach to embed a genuine culture of care across all levels of the business.
This holistic focus has produced outstanding results, reducing the company’s port and rail total recordable injury frequency rate by 48 per cent, decreasing mine maintenance injuries by 47 per cent, and achieving a 38 per cent decline in recordable injuries during the 2024–25 summer period.
Hancock Iron Ore head of health and safety Paul Slocombe said the award represented “really fantastic recognition” and attributed the success to this simple but powerful approach.
“One of the things we’ve tried to do with our Brilliant at the Basics program is iron out a lot of variability by focusing on some really fundamental things that allow us to lead through the lens of care, driving accountability,” Slocombe said.
He believes maintaining these high standards requires a relentless mindset, as the B@TB philosophies have become “embedded in our everyday activities”.
“One of the things that we say is safety is like riding a bike uphill,” Slocombe said. “As soon as you stop pedalling, you fall off. So it requires constant energy and effort.”
The Excellence in Mine Safety, OH&S Award represents a milestone win for the company, which formalised the merger of Roy Hill and Atlas Iron to become Hancock Iron Ore on July 1, 2025, and continues to focus on producing world-class iron ore from WA’s Pilbara region.
This award builds on a proven track record of safety excellence. Slocombe said the success ultimately comes down to the people and the principles Hancock Iron Ore upholds.
“Our executive chairman Mrs Gina Rinehart’s leadership and absolute commitment for the wellbeing of our people has been central to the culture of safety at Hancock Iron Ore,” he said.
Slocombe emphasised that the award is an opportunity to “double down” on the team’s work, a commitment that stems from a guiding belief: “The decisions we make are fundamentally driven by our values.”
At its core, he believes B@TB’s success, and that of all Hancock Iron Ore initiatives, is measured by human impact. He expressed pride in the teams embracing the new philosophy, noting that their commitment is what “keeps you safe and gets you to go home safely every day”.
The Excellence in Mine Safety, OH&S award was proudly sponsored by Safe to Work.