AUSTRALIA
Benita Kolovos
THE GUARDIAN AUS
Wed, 13 March 2024
Australian Workers Union Victoria state secretary Ronnie Hayden says a 37-year-old man killed in a mine collapse at the Ballarat Gold Mine was performing a form of drilling that ‘shouldn’t be used to do this type of work’.
Wed, 13 March 2024
Australian Workers Union Victoria state secretary Ronnie Hayden says a 37-year-old man killed in a mine collapse at the Ballarat Gold Mine was performing a form of drilling that ‘shouldn’t be used to do this type of work’.
Photograph: Con Chronis/AAP
A man has died and another is fighting for his life in hospital after a mine collapse in Victoria’s Goldfields region.
Thirty people were working about 3km from the entrance of the Ballarat Gold Mine at Mount Clear when the incident occurred about 4.50pm on Wednesday.
While 28 miners made it to a “safety pod” inside the mine and were eventually brought to the surface uninjured, two workers were pinned by fallen rocks about 500 metres underground.
One of the men, a 21-year-old from Ballarat, was freed on Wednesday night and flown to the Alfred hospital in Melbourne, where he remained in a critical condition on Thursday.
The other man, a 37-year-old from Bruthen in the state’s East Gippsland region, died.
Acting Insp Lisa MacDougall confirmed police had recovered his body at 5.20am on Thursday and would prepare a report for the coroner. WorkSafe also confirmed it would be investigating the death.
MacDougall said it took emergency services some time to create safe access for paramedics to the man.
According to the Australian Workers Union Victorian branch secretary, Ronnie Hayden, the man’s death “should have been avoided”.
Hayden told reporters in Ballarat on Thursday the workers were performing a manual type of mining called “air-legging” on “unsupported ground” at the time of the accident.
The method involves the use of a handheld drill operated by two miners. He said the ground gave way, trapping both miners and killing one.
“This form of air-legging shouldn’t be used to do this type of work. This form of air-legging should be used, if it’s ever used at all, to investigate the ground,” he said.
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Hayden said concerns had been raised about the use of air-legging at the mine for some time.
He said it was his expectation Victoria’s workplace manslaughter laws would “take effect”. According to Hayden, since the laws were introduced in 2020, 169 Victorians had been killed on the job but there had only been one prosecution of workplace manslaughter.
Mine owner Victory Minerals was contacted for comment.
In a statement, it confirmed the death of “one of our own” in the “tragic accident”.
“Our deepest sympathies and thoughts are with his family and all our people right now,” a spokesperson said. “Our absolute priority is supporting the wellbeing of our team members and their families and loved ones, as we all come to terms with this tragic news.”
The company said control of the Ballarat Gold Mine was transitioning from Victoria police to WorkSafe Victoria for its investigation.
Victory Minerals bought the mine network, including the mill and equipment, from Lihir Gold in March 2010.
In November 2007, three years prior to that sale, 27 miners were trapped when a cave-in occurred while they were working a kilometre underground.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, said her thoughts were with the man’s family, as well as the other miners involved in the accident.
“This would have been a terrifying ordeal for those miners and certainly too our thoughts should be with them as well,” she told reporters on Thursday.
Allan also thanked emergency services for their fast response.
“It can be a dangerous mission,” she said.
The federal member for Ballarat, Catherine King, also extended her condolences to the family of the miner who died, saying she was “deeply saddened”.
“Australia’s prosperity is built on the hard work of miners around the country,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Workers deserve to come home safe from a shift or a long swing away from home.”
Ballarat’s mayor, Des Hudson, said news of the man’s death was “devastating” for the tight-knit community, which has also grappled with the alleged murder of local woman Samantha Murphy.
“Our hearts go out to the family of that miner who never came home from work but also to the other miner who is currently in the Alfred hospital with very significant injuries and has a battle in front of him,” Hudson told Channel Seven’s Sunrise.
A man has died and another is fighting for his life in hospital after a mine collapse in Victoria’s Goldfields region.
Thirty people were working about 3km from the entrance of the Ballarat Gold Mine at Mount Clear when the incident occurred about 4.50pm on Wednesday.
While 28 miners made it to a “safety pod” inside the mine and were eventually brought to the surface uninjured, two workers were pinned by fallen rocks about 500 metres underground.
One of the men, a 21-year-old from Ballarat, was freed on Wednesday night and flown to the Alfred hospital in Melbourne, where he remained in a critical condition on Thursday.
The other man, a 37-year-old from Bruthen in the state’s East Gippsland region, died.
Acting Insp Lisa MacDougall confirmed police had recovered his body at 5.20am on Thursday and would prepare a report for the coroner. WorkSafe also confirmed it would be investigating the death.
MacDougall said it took emergency services some time to create safe access for paramedics to the man.
According to the Australian Workers Union Victorian branch secretary, Ronnie Hayden, the man’s death “should have been avoided”.
Hayden told reporters in Ballarat on Thursday the workers were performing a manual type of mining called “air-legging” on “unsupported ground” at the time of the accident.
The method involves the use of a handheld drill operated by two miners. He said the ground gave way, trapping both miners and killing one.
“This form of air-legging shouldn’t be used to do this type of work. This form of air-legging should be used, if it’s ever used at all, to investigate the ground,” he said.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup
Hayden said concerns had been raised about the use of air-legging at the mine for some time.
He said it was his expectation Victoria’s workplace manslaughter laws would “take effect”. According to Hayden, since the laws were introduced in 2020, 169 Victorians had been killed on the job but there had only been one prosecution of workplace manslaughter.
Mine owner Victory Minerals was contacted for comment.
In a statement, it confirmed the death of “one of our own” in the “tragic accident”.
“Our deepest sympathies and thoughts are with his family and all our people right now,” a spokesperson said. “Our absolute priority is supporting the wellbeing of our team members and their families and loved ones, as we all come to terms with this tragic news.”
The company said control of the Ballarat Gold Mine was transitioning from Victoria police to WorkSafe Victoria for its investigation.
Victory Minerals bought the mine network, including the mill and equipment, from Lihir Gold in March 2010.
In November 2007, three years prior to that sale, 27 miners were trapped when a cave-in occurred while they were working a kilometre underground.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, said her thoughts were with the man’s family, as well as the other miners involved in the accident.
“This would have been a terrifying ordeal for those miners and certainly too our thoughts should be with them as well,” she told reporters on Thursday.
Allan also thanked emergency services for their fast response.
“It can be a dangerous mission,” she said.
The federal member for Ballarat, Catherine King, also extended her condolences to the family of the miner who died, saying she was “deeply saddened”.
“Australia’s prosperity is built on the hard work of miners around the country,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Workers deserve to come home safe from a shift or a long swing away from home.”
Ballarat’s mayor, Des Hudson, said news of the man’s death was “devastating” for the tight-knit community, which has also grappled with the alleged murder of local woman Samantha Murphy.
“Our hearts go out to the family of that miner who never came home from work but also to the other miner who is currently in the Alfred hospital with very significant injuries and has a battle in front of him,” Hudson told Channel Seven’s Sunrise.
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