Company and Two Supervisors Fined for Falling Rock Incident at Mine

Two workers were being transported by a mechanized raise climber (MRC) up a ventilation raise in a mine. After they’d travelled about 30 feet up the raise, rocks started to fall onto the MRC. One of the workers was struck by rock and suffered critical injuries, becoming unconscious. The other suffered minor injuries. Mine personnel were able to rescue them after about three hours. The mining company was found guilty of three OHS violations and fined $125,000. The superintendent was convicted, as a supervisor, of failing to have a supervisor or trainer conduct job task observations. He and another supervisor were convicted of two additional safety offences. The superintendent was fined $6,000, while the shift supervisor was fined $5,000 [J.S. Redpath Ltd., Philip Parrott and Robert Beldock, Govt. News Release, May 12, 2016].