A subsidiary of ASX-listed Westgold Resources has been fined $35,000 after a mine site worker was injured when he was struck by a 322 kilogram jib attachment on an integrated tool carrier.
A subsidiary of ASX-listed Westgold Resources has been fined $35,000 after a mine site worker was injured when he was struck by a 322 kilogram jib attachment on an integrated tool carrier.
Avoca Mining Pty Ltd, which operates the Higginsville mine, has been owned by Westgold since 2013, when the Perth-based miner bought the Australian operations of Canada's Alacer Gold Corp.
Production coordinator Dennis Taylor suffered fractured ribs and compression fractures to two vertebrae when he was hit at the Higginsville mine in February 2015.
A build-up of material had prevented the jib from extending properly, so Mr Taylor and a co-worker started gently shaking the jib while it was elevated and tapping it with a sledgehammer.
But as Mr Taylor walked between the jib and the integrated tool, he was hit and sustained fractured ribs and compression fractures to two vertebrae.
Avoca Mining was fined in Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to failing to provide and maintain a working environment at a mine where employees were not exposed to hazards.
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety Director Mines Safety Andrew Chaplyn said the department’s investigation found that while Mr Taylor’s co-worker was an experienced and qualified loader operator and had used the IT at the mine several times previously, he had not received specific training on the IT he was operating nor had he been deemed competent.
“Mr Taylor’s co-worker wasn’t aware of the company’s safety processes and procedures for operating the IT,” Mr Chaplyn said.
“This included the requirement to conduct a prestart check on the IT and jib, the procedure for checking whether work tools were properly attached to the IT and requirements around conducting a job hazard analysis.”
The mine also had a dedicated wash pad where built-up material could be safely cleaned from dirty equipment.
“The company should have ensured the jib was cleaned in a safe manner prior to its use and that exclusion zones were being maintained when the IT was in operation,” Mr Chaplyn said.
Mr Chaplyn said the incident should not have happened.
"Maintaining exclusion zones around operating machinery is a simple and cost-effective way of reducing the risk of being exposed to uncontrolled movement of equipment," he said.
Today's news comes two years after Avoca was fined $20,000 in Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to four charges related to the secure storage of explosives.
WA Police uncovered the theft of 100kg of explosives from the Higginsville gold operation in May 2015.
Two men and a woman were convicted in relation to the theft.
WA Department of Mines and Petroleum chief dangerous goods officer Ross Stidolph said the department’s investigation into the theft discovered a series of failures with regard to secure storage of explosives.
