Mining companies fined $430K for worker’s 2020 death

A mining company operating near Thunder Bay has been fined a total of $430,000 for the death of an employee May 27, 2020, at the Lac Des Iles Mine. (File)

A mining company operating near Thunder Bay has been fined a total of $430,000 for the death of an employee May 27, 2020, at the Lac Des Iles Mine.

The worker was killed during an operation to repair an ore pass at the mine, located two hours from Thunder bay. The mine is owned by Toronto-based Impala Canada Ltd.

“Muck travels through ore passes by tumbling and sliding along the pass,” said a news release from the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

“Over time, ore pass walls can become damaged and enlarged, allowing the surrounding rock to fail and fall into the pass, which can negatively affect mine production.”

Impala hired SCR Mines Technology, based in Greater Sudbury, to conduct the repair work. The company used shotcrete – concrete sprayed on with water through a high-speed nozzle – in the repair, spraying six-foot sections at a time before moving on to the next section.

“SCR was allocated control of the ore pass for the repair work after an Impala Canada Ltd. worker locked out the loading pocket,” the news release said.

“When the muck pile was drawn down at the loading pocket, SCR employees would remove its locks from the equipment, and the Impala Canada Ltd. worker would pull material from the ore pass by operating a guillotine gate intended to control the flow of the muck.”

SCR employees would fill a section with muck and stand on it while spaying the walls. Once finished, they would retreat from the ore pass and the Impala employee would open a pneumatic gate to let the muck fall so the SCR employees could repair the next six-foot section of the ore pass.

During repair work from May 23-27 that year, a significant amount of shotcrete rebounded off the walls and ended up on top of the muck where the SCR workers were standing.

The concrete saturated the muck, causing it to break through the protective barriers.

“This muck had a large content of saturated shotcrete and it overwhelmed the protective barriers at the base of the ore pass, fatally injuring the worker,” the ministry said.

Impala was fined $300,000 for not having a plan to ensure worker safety in the event of “unwanted or uncontrolled flows of water.”

SCR was fined $130,000 for failing to consider “the location and placement of SCR personnel during the muck draw down activities that could pose a danger to workers. SCR Mines Technology (2013) Inc. failed, as an employer to comply with the requirements of the regulation, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.”

In addition to the fines, the court also imposed a 25 per cent victim surcharge, which is deposited into a fund that helps victims of crime.

Read the full release here.