Perth-based mining contractor Byrnecut, who is already under scrutiny for two fatalities by employees in Australia, is now at the center of an international investigation after eight workers were killed in a mine disaster in the United States. ‘West Africa.
Key points:
- Burkina Faso’s prime minister has blamed the disaster on the “irresponsibility” of mine managers.
- Both Byrnecut and the Canadian mine owner, Trevali, will be the subject of a judicial investigation into the deaths.
- Security authorities are still investigating the deaths of two Byrnecut Australian employees over the past two years
The ABC has confirmed that eight men trapped underground at the Perkoa zinc mine in Burkina Faso last month were all employed by Byrnecut.
Its Canadian owner, Trevali, awarded the company a “full development and production contract” for the mine in 2016. The scope of the work included development, all stop production activities, transportation, management of the entire fleet and staff training.
On April 16, non-seasonal torrential rains flooded the West African mining field and cut off contact with eight employees – six Burkinabe, one Tanzanian and one Zambian – who worked more than half a kilometer underground.
Rain crossed one of the mine’s bridges and blew up “safety barriers” before damaging electrical and communications systems.
A month-long mass rescue operation ended last week after crews discovered no survivors had reached a rescue chamber 570 meters underground, shattering all hope that the men were still alive.
Byrnecut confirmed the eight deaths in an internal note, obtained by the ABC, which also said the company was in “close communication” with the affected families.
Millions of gallons of water have been pumped from Perkoa’s mining chambers. No survivors were found. (Reuters: Anne Mimault)
The families of six miners, according to a report by Al Jazeera, have filed cases for his death, alleging attempted manslaughter, endangering the life and not assisting a person in danger, against “unknown persons” .
Burkina Faso Prime Minister Albert Ouedraogo has launched a judicial investigation into the tragedy and ordered that the passports of mine managers be confiscated while the investigation is ongoing.
During a site visit over the weekend, Ouedraogo also blamed the “irresponsibility” of mine officials and alleged that several days before the accident “outdoor dynamite was used”. [part of the] mine, which weakened the [underground] gallery and allowed the flood “.
Byrnecut and Trevali, both of whom are under investigation, declined to be interviewed and did not answer specific questions about their responsibilities for decisions made before the tragedy.
Mine safety consultant Stuart Vaccaneo said there were questions about why the water reached the Perkoa mining site.
He said the floods were considered “critical” or “extreme” risks and that companies should have taken into account factors such as the stability of the foundation, the in situ use of water such as dams, and rains and floods.
“Water and mines just don’t mix, you have to keep the water outdoors, either open or underground,” he said.
He said investigators will assess the design of safety barriers against activities that took place at the mine during the days and months leading up to the tragedy along with the mine evacuation plan.
“When you design barriers, you have to incorporate a safety factor, there’s a lot of design work that goes into it depending on the bedrock, how much water to retain,” Vaccaneo said.
“Obviously you have to have a stable base and if the underlying strata weaken, everything will collapse.”
Hein Frey, Trevali’s vice president of operations, visited the site earlier this month. (Reuters: Anne Mimault)
Trevali vice president of operations Hein Frey, who visited the site earlier this month, said the rain was “completely unexpected.”
“Given the dry season, we obviously didn’t expect rain and we had an absolute torrential downpour,” he told Reuters.
Two Australian mining deaths are being investigated
The tragedy at the Perkoa mine follows two deadly incidents at the Byrnecut mines in Western Australia and South Australia, which are still being investigated by security authorities.
The young father of two, Michael Johnson, was killed in July 2020 while working for the company in a mine in northeast Kalgoorlie, WA.
He died at Saracen Mineral Holding’s Dervish underground gold mine after the loader he was driving fell 25 meters above the edge of an open pit in the mine.
Byrnecut has a four-year, $ 440 million mining service contract.
An interim report from the Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety Research (DMIRS), which investigated the deaths and involvement of all local businesses, concluded that there were no visual marks indicating a fall from the edge of the stairs where Mr. Johnson fell.
DMIRS said it was also investigating another April 2020 incident in which a Byrnecut employee was injured after a rock fell into an underground mine.
He said he could not comment further on Mr Johnson’s case as his investigation into the death was still ongoing and the cause of death had yet to be determined.
Mine worker Michael Johnson and his wife Crystal. Mr. Johnson died in July 2020. (Provided by: GoFundMe)
Last September, a 43-year-old South Australian man was crushed to death by machinery while working at the Oz Minerals Prominent Hill site southeast of Coober Pedy, SA.
Byrnecut has had a contract since 2010 to “undertake all underground activities” at the site, including “development, drilling and loading of long holes, filling of paste, bogging and application of batches of fibrocret”.
SafeWork SA said it was still investigating Prominent Hill’s death.
“After conducting an investigation, SafeWork SA may issue charges against a person or company for non-compliance in accordance with the Health, Safety and Employment Act 2012,” a spokesman said.
Vaccaneo said mine safety standards had fallen across Australia, as identified in the 2017 Grosvenor Inquiry and Black Lungs, White Lies report presented to the Queensland Parliament.
He said, without connecting the three fatal crashes involving Byrnecut, any company that experienced deaths in its operations suggested the need for overhaul.
“If you’re any organization and you have fatalities in different parts of your operation, you need to look at some important things,” he said.
“You owe a duty of care to your employees, if they are dying in different operations, two things are wrong: either the systems they operate under the company are not good enough or the systems they operate with are not good enough.”
Byrnecut chief executive Steve Coughlan confirmed the men were in charge of his company. He declined to answer specific questions about the deaths, and told the ABC that the company was focusing on retrieving the bodies of the men while expelling hundreds of millions of gallons of water from the mine.
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More than 55 million liters have been removed, which is about a third of the total amount thought to have swept the underground part of the Perkoa mine during the downpour.
Coughlan said the company was assisting government authorities in its investigations and had launched its own, which will be carried out in collaboration with mine owner Trevali.
Africa has been a major investment hub for Australian miners in recent years.
The number of Australian companies operating in African mining and oil projects has nearly tripled to 220 in nearly 600 projects over the past 15 years, according to an Australian government survey.
Posted 2 hours, 2 hours ago, Friday, May 27, 2022 at 6:37 PM, updated 1 hour ago, 1 hour ago, Friday, May 27, 2022 at 7:41 PM