Misreading of safety manual played key role in miner’s death, inquest told

Video shown to an inquest jury this week, taken by the Ontario Provincial Police of the scene of a River Valley rock quarry the day after a miner was killed.

The inquest examining the August 2019 death of a Sudbury miner heard that a misunderstanding of the safety limits in a manual for a rock drill contributed to the tragedy.

The manual said that the Gardner Denver SCH2500 Rock Drill could climb up slopes up to 35 degrees. However, that was meant to reflect the strength of the engine in the machine, not the limit at which drilling could be done safely without the risk of the drill sliding down the rockface.

Mark Beskorowany, 54, died two days after an Aug. 19, 2019, incident at a rock quarry in River Valley. The rock drill he was operating began sliding when he was moving it downward on the sloped surface.

The slope suddenly went from about 10 degrees to between 19 and 24 degrees as it moved down the rockface. That caused the track on the machine to lose contact with the rock and fall forward. When the track made contact with the smooth rockface again, it began to slide downward, causing it to tip over.

Beskorowany was on an exposed platform to operate the drill. He tried to jump clear of the falling machine, but tripped. Part of the drill landed on him, crushing his lower body. He died in hospital two days later.

Under questioning from inquest counsel Jai Dhar, Cynthia Matikainen, a forensic engineer who did an independent investigation for the province, explained that the rock drill could have been safely operated if a winch had been deployed.

A winch is similar to an anchor that is drilled into the rock with a thick cable running from it to the machine to keep it in place and ensure it doesn’t slide.

However, Consebec Ltd., the contractor Beskorowany worked for, misread the manual for the rock drill. Consebec procedures said that a winch was only required if drilling was being done on slopes of 35 degrees or more.

Matikainen said the drill could climb rockfaces as steep as 35 degrees, but could only operate safely moving downhill at 10.9 degrees.

“The manual said do not tram on steep inclines,” she said.

Tramming is a reference to moving the machine along the rockface as blasting holes were drilled in the quarry.

She said Consebec’s procedures at the time allowed workers to tram at unsafe angles using the rock drill because the company read the manual incorrectly.

The company was charged by the Ministry of Labour and later fined $200,000 in connection with the tragedy.

The seven-day inquest began April 7 and is expected to last seven days. The presiding officer is Bonnie Goldberg.

The purpose of the inquest isn’t to find fault or lay blame, but to present the facts to the inquest jury, who then have the option to make recommendations to the province on new regulations or rules to prevent further tragedies.