TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Palladium miner Lac des Iles Mines (LDI), a subsidiary of TSX-listed North American Palladium, has been fined C$365 000 for two separate incidents that occurred in 2014, in which one worker was injured and another killed as a result of shifted mined material.

In Thunder Bay court on Monday, Senior Justice of the Peace Raymond Zuliani found LDI guilty of failing to ensure that written safety precautions and procedures were established and followed to prevent a worker from being outside of a loader while ahead of the 'safe-limit line', contrary to Section 84(1) of the Mining and Mining Plants Regulation. For that, the miner was fined C$300 000.

According to an Ontario Court of Justice bulletin issued on Tuesday, the incident occurred on July 10, 2014, when the miner was operating a scoop tram (an underground loader, similar to a front-end loader) hauling ore and was killed instantly when he was struck and crushed by a run of muck or rock.

The incident occurred at the 961 stope draw point, an opening at the bottom of an inclined excavation through which broken ore was being extracted. The worker was found lifeless in a location about 6.75 m ahead of the 'safe-limit line' painted on the wall.

It was unknown why the worker was ahead of the safe-limit line outside the cab of the loader. According to a bulletin, the bucket was full of rock and raised, its engine still running with lights on and the operator cab door was open.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour had issued a number of orders to the employer, including one to ensure that written safety precautions and procedures were established and used before, during and after removal of material. The employer complied with the order by developing a written policy that no worker outside a loader would be permitted ahead of the safe-limit line without permission from a supervisor.

INJURY
Earlier, on February 22, 2014, another equipment operator was injured while working above ground at the mine's regular-grade ore stockpile working face. The worker was loading mine haulage trucks with an excavator when the working face of the stockpile failed, sending a large amount of material onto the excavator. It crushed the operator's cab, its controls and radio, trapping the worker inside where the worker was unable to radio for assistance, shut down the motor or get free of the cab.

Another mine haulage truck operator discovered the trapped worker, and mine rescue personnel removed the worker about two hours after the incident. The worker suffered hand and leg injuries.

LDI was found guilty of failing to ensure that a stockpile of unconsolidated material was made safe before a worker was allowed to work close to or on top of the stockpile, contrary to Section 61(1)(b) of the regulation, and fined C$65 000.

The court also imposed a 25% victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge would be credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.