Coroner finds deaths of Mt Lyell copper mine workers “completely avoidable”

A Tasmanian coroner has found the deaths of two Queenstown copper mine workers were “completely avoidable” and had a profound effect on the tight knit community. LATEST >>>

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THE deaths of two of the three Mount Lyell copper mine workers who died on the job were “completely avoidable” and the loss robbed a “proud and resilient community” of three important members, a coroner has found.

In December 2013, Copper Mines of Tasmania (CMT) workers Alistair Lucas, 25, and Craig Gleeson, 45, died when a platform they were working on collapsed.

The following month, Michael Welsh, 53, died in a mud rush at the same worksite in Queenstown.

Deceased Mt Lyell miner Michael Welsh

Mt Lyell had been Australia’s oldest continually operating mine, but it has been in caretaker mode since July 2014 and was subsequently put on the market, with owners Vedanta appointing global investment bank Macquarie Capital to manage the sale.

In 2016, CMT was fined $225,000 after pleading guilty to failing to provide a safe workplace in relation to the deaths of Mr Lucas and Mr Gleeson.

A coronial inquest began in April 2018, but was put on hold while CMT launched – but failed – in a legal battle preventing Coroner Simon Cooper hearing evidence from a report by an expert witness.

Family members of the deceased miners leave the Hobart Court after the Mt Lyell inquest findings. Picture: Chris Kidd

Family members of the deceased miners leave the Hobart Court after the Mt Lyell inquest findings. Picture: Chris Kidd

Mr Cooper handed down his findings on Friday.

In relation to the deaths of Mr Gleeson and Mr Lucas, Mr Cooper said he considered “their deaths were entirely avoidable had basic safety principles been adhered to.”

He made the following recommendations:

* There be no further use of temporary work platforms, like that from which Mr Gleeson and Mr Lucas fell to their deaths.

* Instead, properly designed, engineered and constructed platforms only be used.

* All workers be required in all appropriate circumstances to use appropriate fall arrest equipment, such as harnesses and lanyards and all workers be trained in the use of such fall arrest equipment.

* There be regular auditing and supervision of the adherence to the use of fall arrest equipment to ensure appropriate use.

Mt Lyell mine.

“Had they both been wearing appropriate fall arrest devices and those fall arrest devices had been tethered to an appropriate strong point, both men would have completed their shift and returned home to their families,” Mr Cooper wrote.

“Safety is the responsibility of employers as a matter of law. That does not absolve employees from taking care about their own safety. Ultimately though it seems to me that the development and fostering of an appropriate safety culture is top-down.”

In relation to Mr Welsh’s death, Mr Cooper recommended the formalisation of the auditing process of risk management tools in relation to inundation and inrush hazard management.

Shots from the Mt Lyell mine following the deaths of Mr Lucas and Mr Gleeson.

“The deaths of Mr Gleeson, Mr Lucas and Mr Welsh were tragic, and in the cases of Mr

Gleeson and Mr Lucas, completely avoidable,” Mr Cooper wrote.

“Apart from the terrible impact of their deaths upon their families who lost much loved husbands, partners, sons and fathers, it is quite apparent that their deaths, so close together, had a profound effect on the tight knit community of Queenstown.

“Unlike many mine workers both on Tasmania’s West Coast and throughout many areas of regional Australia, Mr Gleeson, Mr Lucas and Mr Welsh all lived locally in Queenstown. “They were very much part of that proud and resilient community. Their deaths robbed the community of three important members. Many people lost a friend, teammate or co-worker. That sense of loss was palpable during the inquest, particularly during the hearing days in Queenstown.”