By Benjamin Preiss and Sarah Danckert
The former health and safety manager of the Ballarat Gold Mine has savaged the mine’s owner, saying repeated safety concerns were raised about the company’s practices before a rock collapse this week killed one worker and left another with life-threatening injuries.
Rick Walker said he and two other staff members had told the company that ground conditions in Ballarat were unsuitable for a mining technique known as air-legging – but the practice went ahead anyway.
“It was an accident waiting to happen,” he said.
Kurt Hourigan, a 37-year-old miner from Bruthen in East Gippsland, died in the rock collapse 500 metres underground on Wednesday night. Tributes flowed for Hourigan on social media this week as his family and friends struggled to come to terms with his death.
His colleague, a 21-year-old Ballarat man, was airlifted to The Alfred hospital and was in a critical condition late on Friday.
Mine owner Victory Minerals said WorkSafe Victoria had approved its reopening on Friday morning.
Ballarat gold mine victim Kurt Hourigan.Credit: Facebook
“The company chose a soft restart, giving employees the choice to stay at home if they wished with no financial penalty,” it said in a statement late on Friday.
Victory restructured the business shortly after buying the mine and its operations out of administration in December last year.
As part of the restructure, Victory cut about 10 per cent of the workforce that was at the time about 200 strong.
Walker – who was made redundant in early January – said he and some senior colleagues had told the company that air-leg mining should not be carried out at the Ballarat Gold Mine without appropriate ground control.
A rock collapse at the Ballarat Gold Mine left one man dead and another fighting for his life.Credit: Joe Armao
He described feeling shock and horror – which soon gave way to anger – when he heard about the mining tragedy this week.
“It was completely avoidable. All the warning signs were there.”
Victory said that the mine had been assessed and validated as suitable for air-leg mining by geotechnical experts in 2023.
“We have no further comment to make about claims made by disgruntled former employees,” it said in the Friday night statement.
Victory said Walker’s safety responsibilities had been transferred to another manager, reporting directly to the chief executive.
The company said redundancies had been made across the business, but it didn’t cut underground safety workers.
“We increased safety professional resources within the underground,” it said in a statement. Victory said the redundancies were made by the administrators before it took control of the mine.
On Thursday, the Australian Workers Union said the two miners were using the manual mining technique known as air legging. It involves a cylinder operated by compressed air that keeps a rock drill pressed into the hole being drilled.
Walker said he spoke up about air legging based on the advice of the two geotechnical engineers. All three of them had ceased working at the mine by early this year.
Ballarat Gold Mine at Mount Clear.Credit: Joe Armao
A source familiar with the mine’s operations, speaking anonymously to protect their employment, supported the view that the type of rock was not suitable for that type of mining and that it was a new practice that had been introduced at the site during the mine’s time in administration.
This week, Australian Workers Union state secretary Ronnie Hayden said the two miners had been air legging beneath unsupported ground when it collapsed. He said they should not have been doing that task in the Ballarat Gold Mine.
“The information we’re getting back was this was a quick, cheap and easy way to chase gold,” he said on Thursday.
Hayden said the union would push for industrial manslaughter laws to be used, saying 169 Victorians had died at work since the laws were introduced, including 12 this year, but there had only been one prosecution in that time.
Workers’ Union Victorian state secretary Ronnie Hayden wants industrial manslaughter laws applied.Credit: Joe Armao
“Our members are angry. Our organisers are angry.”
Until December, the mine was on financial tenterhooks, having been placed into administration by its former owners amid ongoing safety and regulatory issues involving how the mine was managing its waste via an overly full tailings dam.
The mine was purchased from administration in a competitive bidding process that attracted offers from four groups. The winning bidders was Victory Minerals, which is owned by Singapore company Chrysos Investments.
Company records in Singapore show that the majority of Chrysos Investments – 75 per cent of its shares – is owned by Bahamas group Capital Union Bank, a subsidiary of UCAP, an investment powerhouse that specialises in “structured solutions” for clients and investment areas such as distressed debt, distressed assets and exotic products.
The other main shareholder is an entity associated with London hedge fund Acheron, founded by Jean Michel “JM” Paul. Acheron and Capital Union Bank have been contacted for comment.
The mine was closed after the tragedy on Wednesday. The collapse, which also resulted in 28 miners seeking refuge in a safety pod, triggered emergency measures within the mine.
They were brought safely to the surface late on Wednesday evening. Police and WorkSafe Victoria are now conducting separate investigations into the disaster.
Beer said the investigation at Ballarat Gold Mine would examine what safety procedures were in place and whether any regulations had been breached.
“We’ll certainly try to understand if there’s anything that could have been prevented or avoided or if there’s any recklessness or negligence in that process,” she said.