A Perth-based mining contractor under scrutiny for two employee fatalities in Australia is now at the centre of an international investigation after eight workers die in a West African mine disaster.
have filed cases over their deaths, claiming attempted manslaughter, endangering life and failing to assist a person in danger, against "persons unknown". Burkina Faso Prime Minister Albert Ouedraogo launched a judicial investigation into the tragedy and arranged for the passports of the mine managers to be confiscated while inquiries were ongoing.
During a visit to the site at the weekend, Mr Ouedraogo also blamed "irresponsibility" by those in charge at the mine and alleged that several days before the accident "dynamite was used on the open-air [part of the] mine, which weakened the [underground] gallery and enabled the flooding". Byrnecut and Trevali, both of which will be the subject of the judicial investigation, declined to be interviewed and did not answer specific questions about their responsibilities for decisions made in the lead up to the tragedy. Mine safety consultant Stuart Vaccaneo said there were questions as to why the water ever made it into the Perkoa mining site. He said flooding was considered "critical" or "extreme" risks and companies should have accounted for factors such as the stability of the foundation, on-site use of water such as dams, as well as rain and flooding events. "Water and mines just don't mix, you've got to keep water out, whether it be open cut or underground," he said. He said investigators would be assessing the design of the safety barriers against the activities that took place at the mine in the days and months leading up to the tragedy alongside the mine's evacuation plan. "When you design barriers, you've got to build in a safety factor, there's a lot of design work that goes into it depending on the base rock, how much water you're going to hold back," Mr Vaccaneo said. "You've obviously got to have a stable base and if the underlying strata gets weakened, the whole thing is going to fall apart."Trevali vice president of operations Hein Frey, who visited the site earlier this month, said the rain was "completely unexpected"..The Perkoa mine tragedy follows two fatal incidents at mines involving Byrnecut in Western Australia and South Australia, which are still being investigated by safety authorities. Young father of two, Michael Johnson, was killed in July 2020 while working for the company on a mine north-east of Kalgoorlie, WA.Byrnecut holds the four-year mining services contract worth $440 million. An interim report by Western Australia's Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety Investigations , investigating the deaths and involvement of all companies at the site, concluded there were no visual markings to indicate a drop from the edge of the stope where Mr Johnson fell. DMIRS said it was also investigating another incident from April 2020, where a Byrnecut employee was injured after a rockfall at an underground mine. It said it was unable to comment further on Mr Johnson's case as its investigation into the fatality was still underway and was yet to determine the cause of the death.Last September, a 43-year-old South Australian man was crushed to death by machinery while working on Oz Minerals Prominent Hill site south-east of Coober Pedy, SA. Byrnecut has, since 2010, the contract to "undertake all underground activities" at the site, including "development, longhole drilling and charging, paste fill, stope bogging and fibrecrete batching and application"."After an investigation is conducted, SafeWork SA may issue charges against a person or business for breaches pursuant to the Work, Health and Safety Act 2012," a spokesperson said. Mr Vaccaneo said mine safety standards had fallen across Australia as identified in the Grosvenor Inquiry and the Black Lungs, White Lies reportHe said, without connecting the three fatal accidents involving Byrnecut, any company experiencing deaths across its operations suggested the need for review. "If you're any organisation and you're having fatalities across different parts of your operation you've got some major things to look at," he said. "You owe a duty of care to your employees — if they're dying at different operations — two things are wrong: either systems operating under the company are not good enough or the systems the people operating under aren't good enough." Byrnecut executive chairman Steve Coughlan confirmed the men were under his company's employ. He declined to answer specific questions about the deaths, telling the ABC the company's focus is on recovering the bodies of the men while pumping out the hundreds of millions of litres of floodwater out of the mine.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘I was happy ... besides the politics’: Langer hits out at CAJustin Langer, who quit as national coach after only being offered a six-month contract, criticised “bull---- politics” at a West Australian Chamber of Commerce event.
Read more »
‘I was happy ... besides the politics’: Langer hits out at CAJustin Langer, who quit as national coach after only being offered a six-month contract, criticised “bull---- politics” at a West Australian Chamber of Commerce event.
Read more »
Man arrested over south-west Sydney apartment shootingA 23-year-old man has been arrested over a shooting in south-western Sydney on Tuesday which left one man injured.
Read more »
MCG contractor says service is back on track, but worker discontent remainsThe MCG’s new hospitality contractor says service levels are improving, despite some workers saying lower pay and workplace conditions are contributing to staff shortages, causing fans lengthy waits for food and drinks.
Read more »
A rapidly growing number of commercial properties in Australia are being bought by overseas buyers. Here's why.
Read more »
Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges West to 'stop playing' with Russia, end war in UkraineThe Ukrainian President has sharpened his criticism of the West's approach to the war, saying the conflict could be stopped if the world treated the situation 'as if it were facing the same'.
Read more »