Fatality statistics in the Western Australian mining industry

Fatality statistics in the Western Australian mining industry captures the number of people killed in the industry in the Australian state of Western Australia. During the period 2000-2012 (inclusive), a total of 52 fatalities occurred.[1] In 2006, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia commissioned a taxonomic study to analyse the 306 mining fatalities which occurred between 1970 and 2006.[2] The Department of Mines and Petroleum, later renamed the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, the governing authority for the industry in the state, has published statistics for fatalities in mining dating back to 1943 and intends to publish statistics dating back to 1886, though early records are not expected to be exhaustive.[3]

Categorisation

The department lists the fatality statistics categorised by commodity, date, fiscal year, occupation, causes, report status and type of mining (underground or surface).[3] Records up until 1967 are not categorised by commodity and instead appear as "not categorised" in the listing. Categorisation began in 1967 and almost all fatalities are categorised after 1968.[3]

Omissions

The statistics do not include the 2000 Australia Beechcraft King Air crash, when a flight to the Gwalia Gold Mine, with seven Sons of Gwalia employees onboard failed to land, instead continuing on to Burketown, where it eventually crashed, having run out of fuel. The pilot and the planes seven passengers were all killed.[4]

Recent fatalities

The most recent fatalities in the Western Australian mining industry are:

  • 20 June 2016: Lee Buzzard (32), a fitter, died while performing maintenance on a drilling rig at Rio's Channar mine, near Paraburdoo.[5][6]
  • 16 November 2015: Adam Perttula (28), jumbo drilling offsider, collapsed underground in hot conditions at the Paulsens Gold Mine, south of Pannawonica, and died the next day.[5][6]
  • 7 September 2015: Hira Rewita (56) killed when his haul truck rolled over at Cornishman gold mine, Southern Cross.[5][7][6]
  • 15 May 2015: Joshua Martin (24) crushed between the chargeup basket and the roof of a cross-cut, at Telfer gold mine.[5][8]
  • 11 May 2015: Adam Hardaker (46), an underground bogger operator, was struck by a rock falling from a rill during bogging operations at Aditya Birla Minerals’ Nifty Copper Mine.[9][5]
  • 20 January 2015: Philip Kitching (62) was fatally crushed during maintenance work on a bulldozer at Woodie Woodie manganese mine.[5]
  • 26 May 2014: Lance Farber (63) killed operating a forklift at Mikado Mine, Laverton.[10]
  • 15 February 2014: Wayne Fowlie (59) killed by a rock fall in the Harlequin Mine, Norseman.[10]
  • 29 December 2013: Allen Zuvella (33) was killed in the heavy vehicle workshop at FMG's Christmas Creek mine.[11] The second fatality at the mine in four months.[12]
  • 4 December 2013: Stephen Hampton (43), a contractor at the Newcrest Mining-owned Telfer Mine was killed while working on the tailings dam.[13][12]
  • 14 August 2013: Kurt Williams (26), an electrician at FMG's Christmas Creek mine was killed when he sustained fatal crush injuries in the crushing plant.[14][12]
  • 16 August 2011: Brent Glew (27) was killed at Rio Tinto's Brockman 2 mine, being crushed by a hydraulic cylinder of a front-end loader.[15][16]
  • 24 December 2010: Paul Torre (39), killed while carrying out maintenance on a haul truck, at the Cloud Break mine in the Pilbara, an iron ore mine operated by the Fortescue Metals Group.[17][18][19]
  • 5 August 2010: Rene Ponce (60), miner at the Norseman Gold Mine in the Eastern Goldfields fell while removing ladders in an escape rise.[20][21]
  • 11 April 2010: Wayne Lance Ross (45), an underground loader operator at the Perseverance nickel mine at Leinster, operated by BHP Billiton, drove into an open stope void and fell 25 metres.[22][23]
  • 6 August 2009: Daniel Owen Williams (26), bogger operator, died after falling 25m onto broken rock in an ore pass at Barrick's underground Kanowna Belle Gold Mine.[9]
  • 7 January 2009: Karen Mitchell (54), haul truck driver, died from injuries after falling 3.1 metres to the ground while cleaning the windscreen of her truck, at KCGM's Fimiston Open Pit.[9][24]
  • 25 August 2008: Paul Sparkes (29), was fatally injured while assembling and inflating a heavy earth mover tyre at BHP's Yandi iron ore mine.[9]

Multiple fatalities

Multiple fatalities in the Western Australian mining industry are very rare nowadays and none have occurred since June 2000. Here a list of all multiple fatalities in the industry since 1939:[25]

  • 2000, 26 June: Three men died as a result of the failure of a sandfill bulkhead at Bronzewing Gold Mine, located in the northern Goldfields.[26][27]
  • 1997, 1 September: Two men died during a rockfall in a stope at the Victor Decline underground nickel mine, Kambalda.[28]
  • 1990, 7 February: Two men, a mining engineer and the managing director of a contracting company, died when a concrete block fell down the raise in the Edwards Find underground gold mine, near Marvel Loch.[29]
  • 1989, 13 June: Six men died when a decline at the underground Emu Mine, now the Agnew Gold Mine, flooded after heavy rain.[30][31][32]
  • 1985, 11 December: Two men died in a stope of the Agnew underground nickel mine, Leinster, due to lack of oxygen.[33]
  • 1978, 9 June: Two men died, suffocating, while cleaning a converter vessel in a nickel plant.[34]
  • 1977, 14 July: Two men died, being struck by an iron ore train while doing track maintenance.[35]
  • 1977, 27 April: Five men died when a kibble fell into the shaft of the Agnew underground nickel mine, Leinster, due to a winder malfunction.[36]
  • 1975, 28 May: Two men were killed by a rock fall in an underground nickel mine.[37]
  • 1974, 13 August: Two men died in a head-on collision of two in an iron ore mine.[38]
  • 1960, 12 October: Two men were killed in an explosives accident underground.[39]
  • 1960, 24 August: Two men were killed when falling out of a cage in the Horseshoe No 2 mine, Boulder.[40]
  • 1954, 18 November: Two men were killed in an explosives accident.[41]
  • 1953, 5 January: Two men died when they were buried by a ground fall.[42]
  • 1952, 19 July: Two men died when they were buried by a slime dump.[43]
  • 1951, 30 November: Two men were killed in a gas explosion.[44]
  • 1951, 5 October: Two men were killed in an explosives accident.[45]
  • 1951, 1 June: Three men were killed when crushed by an out-of-control trailer in the Sons of Gwalia underground mine, Leonora.[46]
  • 1950, 10 March: Two men were struck by a descending counterweight.[47]
  • 1950, 13 January: Two men were killed by the air blast of a massive rock fall.[48]
  • 1946, 1 March: Three men were killed in an underground rock fall at the Hill 50 gold mine, Mt Magnet.[49]
  • 1946, 23 January: Two men were killed in a blast at the Ora Banda Amalgamated gold mine, Ora Banda.[50]
  • 1943, 17 July: Three men died of suffocation underground, two of them while attempting to rescue the third, at the Great Boulder gold mine, Boulder.[51]
  • 1940, 19 March: Two miners were crushed by a fall of earth in a stope of the Hannans Star shaft, Boulder.[52]
  • 1939, 22 February: Three miners were overcome by fumes in a winze at the Maybell gold mine, Norseman.[53]

Fatalities statistics

These are the statistics of fatalities by year, type of mining and commodity, subdivided into decades:[54]

2011 to 2020

Fatalities in the current decade, as of 1 January 2017:

Year GD IO NI BM BA DI DS SM UM All
2011 – 3 – – – – – 3 – 3
2012 – – – – – – – – – 0
2013 1 2 – – – – – 3 – 3
2014 1 – – – – – – – 1 1
2015 3 – – 2 – – – 2 3 5
2016 – 1 – – – – – 1 – 1
2011–2020 5 6 0 2 0 0 0 9 4 13

2001 to 2010

Fatalities in the last decade:

Year GD IO NI BM BA DI DS SM UM All
2001 – 1 3 – – – 2 6 – 6
2002 1 – 1 – – – – 1 1 2
2003 2 1 – – 1 1 – 4 1 5
2004 2 3 – – – – – 3 2 5
2005 2 1 1 – – – – 2 2 4
2006 1 – 2 – – – – 1 2 3
2007 2 1 1 – – – – 2 2 4
2008 1 3 – – – – – 4 – 4
2009 2 3 – 1 – – – 5 1 6
2010 1 1 1 – – – – 1 2 3
2001–2010 14 14 9 1 1 1 2 29 13 42
  • Only the commodities with fatalities during this decade are listed.

1943 to 2010

Fatalities by decade:

Year GD IO NI BM BA CY CL CM DI DS MS SA TT OT NC ‡ All
1943–1950 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 107 107
1951–1960 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 142 142
1961–1970 12 12 6 1 1 1 1 – – – – – – 3 55 92
1971–1980 15 44 31 – 4 – 1 6 – – 5 3 – 4 1 114
1981–1990 44 8 19 – 4 – 1 1 1 – 2 – 4 4 1 89
1991–2000 42 8 10 1 2 – 2 1 1 1 1 1 – – 1 71
2001–2010 14 14 9 1 1 – – – 1 2 – – – – – 42
1943–2010 127 86 75 3 12 1 5 8 3 3 8 4 4 11 307 657
  • ‡ Up until the late 1960s, all fatalities are listed under "not categorised" in the DMP database.

Key

References

  1. ↑ Fatal accidents in the Western Australian mining industry 2000-2012 (PDF). Western Australia: Government of Western Australia, Department of Mines and Petroleum. 2014. p. 7. ISBN 978 1 922149 20 6.
  2. ↑ Fatalities in the West Australian Mining Industry 1970 – 2006 The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA Inc. website, page: 20, prepared by: Roger Kahler, published: 2006, accessed: 22 February 2011
  3. 1 2 3 Historical extension to fatalities database DMP website, published: 2009, accessed: 19 February 2011
  4. ↑ Media Release re: Aircraft Accident SGW ASX announcement, published: 5 September 2000, accessed: 8 February 2010
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 McNeill, Heather (21 June 2016). "Mine death second tragedy for Rio Tinto Channar crew". WAToday. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 , Safety performance in the Western Australian mineral industry — accident and injury statistics 2015-16 (pdf). East Perth, WA: Department of Mines and Petroleum. 2016. p. 4. ISBN 978 1 922149 48 0. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  7. ↑ Tomlin, Sam (4 December 2015). "Solemn memorial service kicks off Kalgoorlie's festival of mining". ABC Goldfields. Kalgoorlie, WA. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  8. ↑ "Significant Incident Report No. 217". Mines safety alerts. Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Summary of Prosecutions". Prosecutions undertaken. East Perth, WA: Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Australian Minerals Industry Fatalities". Mining Accident Database. Mine Safety Institute of Australia. 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  11. ↑ Fatality at Fortescue's Christmas Creek mine The Australian, published: 30 December 2013, accessed: 31 December 2013
  12. 1 2 3 Christmas Creek mine site on notice to improve safety standards Department of Mines and Petroleum website, published: 30 December 2013, accessed: 1 January 2014
  13. ↑ Worker killed at Newcrest's Telfer mine in WA north Australian Broadcasting Corporation, published: 4 December 2013, accessed: 31 December 2013
  14. ↑ Worker dies at FMG's Christmas Creek iron ore minesite http://www.news.com.au, published: 15 August 2013, accessed: 16 August 2013
  15. ↑ Rio Tinto halts mine work after Pilbara death The Australian, published: 17 August 2011, accessed: 25 August 2011
  16. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 16/08/2011 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 25 August 2011
  17. ↑ Iron ore operation suspended after death The Herald Sun, published: 24 December 2010, accessed: 25 December 2010
  18. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 24/12/2010 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  19. ↑ Media Release - Incident at Cloudbreak Minesite FMG ASX , published: 24 December 2010, accessed: 21 February 2011
  20. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 05/08/2010 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  21. ↑ Fatality at the Norseman Project Norseman Gold Plc ASX announcement, published: 6 August 2010, accessed: 21 February 2011
  22. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 11/04/2010 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  23. ↑ Death halts BHP mine work The Age, published: 13 April 2010, accessed: 22 February 2011
  24. ↑ "Scientist with a sense of fun took to the road to live her own odyssey". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 February 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  25. ↑ Fatal Accident Reports - By Date WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 19 February 2011
  26. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 26/06/2000 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  27. ↑ Minister calls meeting of mining industry chiefs to drive safety Archived March 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Government of Western Australia, published: 7 September 2000, accessed: 21 February 2011
  28. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 01/09/97 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  29. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 07/02/90 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  30. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 13/06/89 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  31. ↑ Miners injured in collapse at underground gold mine ABC News, published: 10 January 2012, accessed: 16 August 2013
  32. ↑ EMU MINE DISASTER Department of mines report, published: 10 April 1990, accessed: 16 August 2013
  33. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 11/12/85 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  34. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 09/06/78 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  35. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 14/07/77 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  36. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 27/04/77 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  37. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 28/05/75 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  38. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 13/08/74 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  39. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 12/10/60 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  40. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 24/08/60 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  41. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 18/11/54 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  42. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 05/01/53 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  43. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 19/07/52 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  44. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 30/11/51 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  45. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 05/10/51 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  46. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 01/06/51 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  47. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 10/03/50 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  48. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 13/01/50 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
  49. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 01/03/1946 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 22 February 2011
  50. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 23/01/1946 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 22 February 2011
  51. ↑ Fatal Accident Report 17/07/1943 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 22 February 2011
  52. ↑ "Double Mine Fatality". Kalgoorlie Miner. 21 March 1940. p. 4. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  53. ↑ "Death and profits". The Workers Star. Perth, WA. p. 5. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  54. ↑ Western Australian mining fatalities database Archived 2011-02-25 at the Wayback Machine. accessed: 19 February 2011
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