Bootu Creek Mine managers in court over Craig Butler’s death

Two years after Craig Butler was buried alive under 48,000 cubic metres of soil and rock his employer has been dragged back to court.

A TERRITORY mining company has been dragged back into court more than two years after their employee was buried alive under 48,000 cubic metres of soil and rock.

Representatives for the Singaporean company, OM (Manganese) Ltd, appeared in Darwin Local Court on Wednesday over the death of 59-year-old mine superintendent Craig Butler in 2019.

Both the mining company and its Chief Operating Officer Trevor Cook, were charged with reckless conduct risking death and failure to comply with their health and safety duty at the Bootu Creek Mine.

A representative of the mining company gave Judge Alan Woodcock an application to cross examine two witnesses in the lead up to their next hearing.

The matter was adjourned to July 13 – two years and ten months since the fatal incident at Bootu Creek Mine, about 110km north of Tennant Creek.

On Saturday August 24, 59-year-old Mine Superintendent Craig Butler was killed when a section of an open cut pit collapsed, crushing him.

NT WorkSafe said Mr Butler was inspecting the wall after reports of sediment slipping from the multi-storey walls of the Tourag Pit earlier that day.

It alleged throughout the day workers continued to go into the pit.

But as the mine superintendent went into the pit at 2.40pm a section of the wall collapsed, burying him alive.

Another pit wall collapse at Bootu Creek mine.

Mr Butler was engulfed under about 48,000 cubic metres of soil and rock at the mine.

WorkSafe said at the time of the incident, two workers were nearby in the pit and escaped without injury.

The retrieval of Mr Butler’s body was delayed by days because of the instability of the pit, with mine operations shut down.

A year after the workplace death, the Territory safety watchdog charged OM (Manganese) Ltd and the mine’s Chief Operating Officer with a total of 38 criminal breaches of the Work Health and Safety Act.

NT WorkSafe previously said if Cook and the company were found guilty they could face a combined maximum penalty of $35m.

It said Cook could face a maximum penalty of $2.1m or five years in prison or both.