Equipment Company Charged over Diamond Mine Death
October 05, 23
(IDEX Online) - A company that supplies heavy equipment has been charged with health and safety breaches following the death of a worker at the Gahcho Kue diamond mine, in Canada last September.
The Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) has filed seven charges against SMS Equipment Inc., based in Acheson, Alberta, over the death of one of its employees who was working at the mine.
It alleges there was a "failure to maintain an environment where staff are not likely to be endangered."
In a press release the WSCC said: "It failed to take every reasonable measure to protect the health and safety of their employees, as well as other offences."
The mine, in Northwest Territories, opened in 2016 and is jointly owned by De Beers (51 per cent) and Mountain Province (49 per cent).
SMS, which provides equipment, solutions and support for the mining, construction, road maintenance and forestry sectors, is due to make its first court appearance in Yellowknife on 24 October.
At the time of the accident De Beers said: "We are deeply saddened to confirm that an employee from a contractor partner company succumbed to injuries sustained in an incident at Gahcho Kué Mine on Thursday, 1 September.
"The circumstances around what happened are under investigation by the appropriate authorities. All non-essential work at the mine has been suspended.
"This is an extremely tragic incident and the mine joint venture partners, De Beers Group and Mountain Province Diamonds, extend our deepest condolences to the grieving family and friends of the deceased individual."
Pic courtesy Mountain Province