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Mining Tragedies

In the wake of 2011 Vale deaths, Ontario launches full mine safety review – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – December 19, 2013)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Ontario provincial government of Wednesday launched a comprehensive mining safety review to improve the health and well-being of workers in the sector, heeding calls for reform after two miners died at Brazilian diversified mining group Vale’s Sudbury operations in 2011.

Starting early in the New Year, the province’s chief prevention officer would lead an advisory group of industry, labour, health and safety representatives to begin a sweeping review on a wide range of areas within the sector.

The review followed months of intense persuasion by several unions, families and friends of the two men – Jason Chenier (35) and Jordan Fram (26) – killed in a June 8, 2011 accident at Vale’s Stobie underground mine, near Sudbury.

Toronto-based Vale Canada, which owns and operates the operation, was in September fined a record C$1.05-million for the death of the men after Vale Canada pleaded guilty to three charges in a plea bargain, which some had billed as a betrayal of workers and their families by the provincial government.

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Fine for Vale mine worker deaths goes to Sudbury budget – by CBC News Sudbury (December 16, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/sudbury/

A $1 million fine that Vale paid in the deaths of two miners is being absorbed into Sudbury’s city budget. All provincial offences fines go to city coffers, to help offset the city’s costs of running the provincial court.

Some called on Sudbury city council to give that money to the families of the miners or to create some kind of memorial to them. But city councillor Terry Kett recently said it’s better to honour workers who die on the job at the annual memorial day, which he attends in Sudbury every year.

“That’s more important I think than any naming of a park, etc. I think it’s important that we remember that and we keep that in our hearts and minds,” he said. Kett said $1 million from Vale will help the city balance its books, especially since the provincial offences collected last year were down $350,000.

The city receives the fines — including fines from parking tickets and illegal hunting charges — to help offset the cost of running the provincial offences court. Vale paid its fine after being convicted of health and safety violations leading to the fatal accident at Stobie Mine two years ago.

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No inquiry into mining safety: Ministry – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – December 4, 2013)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

The Ministry of Labour has rejected a call from mining advocates in Sudbury and the North to hold a public inquiry into mining safety, opting instead for a comprehensive review of mining safety in Ontario.

United Steelworkers Local 6500 and a lobby group called MINES (Mining Inquiry Needs Everyone’s Support) will hold a news conference Wednesday to respond to the province’s plan for the review.

USW Local 6500, and later MINES, began calling for a full-blown inquiry in February 2012 after the union’s eight-month investigation in the June 8, 2011, deaths of two men at Vale’s Stobie Mine.

The 200-page report into how Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, died contained 165 recommendations, including that an inquiry be held to update mining safety practices. That recommendation prompted the formation of MINES, led by Fram’s mother Wendy Fram, which championed the drive for the inquiry.

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Two miners dead in Colorado, 20 others injured after Ouray blast – by Joey Bunch and Tom McGhee (Denver Post – November 17, 2013)

http://www.denverpost.com/

The two miners who were killed Sunday in Ouray died from carbon monoxide poisoning, authorities said. An explosion was ruled out as the immediate cause of the incident that sent 20 other miners to Western Slope hospitals.

The source of the poisonous gas, however, is under investigation. At a press conference Sunday night authorities said they were are looking at whether a small explosion in the mining process on Saturday might have been the source of the carbon monoxide.

The miners who were killed were identified as 34-year-old Nick Cappano of Montrose and Rick Williams, 59, of Durango. The other miners were expected to be OK, said Rory Williams, the operations manager for Denver-based Star Mine LLC.

“I knew both of these individuals personally,” said Williams, who said he is no relation to Rick Williams. “They were hard-working men. They were great men. They will be remembered indeed.” Williams said all of the men are required to wear personal respirators and the two who died had them. “As far as we can tell it doesn’t appear to be an equipment malfunction,” he said.

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10 safety charges laid in fatal mine accident – by Kevin Rollason (Winnipeg Free Press – November 18, 2013)

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

Vale Canada took corrective action

VALE Canada Ltd. has been charged with 10 offences under the province’s Workplace Safety and Health Act in a mining accident that killed a Thompson miner in 2011. The charges, laid last month, include allegations that Vale did not provide a safe workplace, did not have safe work procedures and had unsafe equipment.

Murray Nychyporuk, president of United Steelworkers Local 6166, said Friday it’s the first time the mine has been charged in connection with the death of a worker.

“It’s a strong message from the (province) to industry throughout Manitoba, not just Vale, that operations and companies need to provide safe working conditions,” Nychyporuk said.

“Corrective actions did take place following the incident, but we had to lose a friend, a brother, a father and a son, all for corrective measures to be put in place.”

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CHINA, ZAMBIA, AND A CLASH IN A COAL MINE – by ALEXIS OKEOWO (New Yorker Magazine – October 10, 2013)

http://www.newyorker.com/

Alexis Okeowo received support for the reporting in this post from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Twelve hundred Zambians gathered on a sunny morning in August of 2012 to protest at Collum Coal Mine, which is located in a rural southern province and, at the time, was owned by five Chinese brothers. They were angry about the working conditions in the mine: Collum had been cited several times by Zambia’s government for labor violations, and miners said that they felt unsafe working there. They were also upset about annual wage increases that they said amounted to only a single Zambian kwacha—the equivalent of twenty cents.

The miners learned that a Chinese foreman had brought outside workers to replace them during the protest, according to one of the protesting miners, twenty-eight-year-old Robert Mundike. Mundike and his co-workers confronted the foreman at one of the mine’s shafts and assaulted him. Then, according to Mundike, they beat up more Chinese workers, along with Zambian miners who were still working even though the protesters had told them not to.

The group—which included not only Collum miners but also their relatives and former workers who said they were owed wages—was becoming restless. They reached another mine shaft, near a cluster of houses where several Chinese supervisors lived. Five Chinese men ran from the settlement, past the coal-carrying conveyor belt and a rock crusher and into the mine, Danny Sikatari, who works as a mine foreman but who did not participate in the protest, told me.

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Silicosis claims and the gold mines: To settle or not? – by Sarah Evans (Mail and Guardian – October 1, 2013)

http://mg.co.za/ [South Africa]

A recent settlement between miners and Anglo American could be a precedent as the gold industry prepares for a looming silicosis class action suit.

Despite being a landmark case, the confidential nature of a recent settlement between Anglo American and silicosis sufferers means there is little legal precedent for future cases, at least in terms of financial compensation.

But the agreement has other implications: as the number of silicosis damages claims against the gold mining industry piles up, and in the face of a looming class action suit, out-of-court settlements could become the norm as mining companies try to avoid bank-breaking court rulings.

In the weeks to follow, the high court in Johannesburg will decide whether to collate three class action claims against 30 of South Africa’s gold mines.

This comes on the back of a landmark settlement between Anglo American and 23 silicosis sufferers, seven of whom died waiting for the case to be finalised. Their claim was instituted in 2004 and was due to go to arbitration in 2014.

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Will silicosis be SA gold’s next big trial? – by Geoff Candy (Mineweb.com – September 26, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

Wage negotiations may have concluded but South Africa’s gold sector still faces a number of challenges, not least of which is a looming class action suit.

GRONINGEN (MINEWEB) – Having only barely dispensed with the plummeting gold price, increasingly demanding shareholders and some of the tensest wage negotiations in memory, the South Africa’s gold producers were probably hoping for a little respite. But, instead, find themselves staring at the looming presence of a silicosis class action suit that seems to be growing inexorably larger with each passing month.

Right now, there are three separate class action matters pending against the country’s gold miners but, the three teams of lawyers have just applied to the courts to consolidate these various claims into a single one that will be defended by 31 companies, which include all of the country’s gold miners and their various operating entities as well as Anglo American South Africa and African Rainbow Minerals, who no longer operate gold mines but did so when some of the claimants contracted the lung disease in question.

It should be noted that Anglo American SA announced yesterday it has just settled 23 silicosis claims brought against it for an undisclosed sum and no admission of liability.

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The floodgates open: Anglo-American settles mineworkers’ silicosis claims – by Rebecca Davis (Daily Maverick/South Africa – September 26, 2013)

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/

On Wednesday it was announced that Anglo-American South Africa would pay 23 former mineworkers undisclosed amounts to settle claims brought against the company after the workers contracted silicosis. The mining house remains adamant that this is not an admission of liability. But lawyers for the mineworkers are hopeful that the settlement may pave the way for payouts for silicosis victims across the industry.

Silicosis is a lung disorder caused by inhaling bits of silica, a mineral found in sand and rocks, over an extended period of time. Silica dust particles can make tiny cuts on the lungs, creating scar tissue which makes it more difficult to breathe. It’s a progressive condition, and sometimes it can come on up to ten years after exposure to silica. People who are most at risk for developing the condition are those who work with sand, rock or quartz, in industries like construction, demolition, or mining.

The South African government has recognised the problem of silicosis and committed to “significantly” reducing its prevalence by 2015 and eliminating it entirely by 2030. It’s a particular public health issue in South Africa because exposure to silica dust increases the risk of TB.

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Anglo American SA reaches settlement with silicosis-stricken miners – by Agency Staff (Business Day – September 25, 2013)

http://www.bdlive.co.za/

A SETTLEMENT between Anglo American South Africa and former miners who had contracted silicosis while working for the company benefited all parties, the company said on Wednesday.

“Anglo American South Africa announces that it has concluded an agreement which resolves fully and finally 23 stand-alone silicosis claims, instituted against it between 2004 and 2009,” the company said in a statement. “The settlement has been reached without admission of liability by Anglo American South Africa and the terms of the agreement remain confidential.”

The case was brought by 23 miners, 18 of whom had worked at Anglo’s President Steyn mine in the Free State. They claimed they contracted silicosis and silico-tuberculosis while working for the company up to 1998.

Anglo American South Africa executive director Khanyisile Kweyama said: “Anglo American South Africa believes that agreeing to settle this long-standing litigation is in the best interests of the plaintiffs, their families, Anglo American South Africa and its wider stakeholders.

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Vale fine should go to families, Steelworkers prez says – by Heidi Ulrichsen (Sudbury Northern Life – September 24, 2013)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

The $1,050,000 fine imposed by the courts on Vale last week in the 2011 deaths of two miners should be directed to their families, said Steelworkers Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand.

Vale will be paying the fine to the City of Greater Sudbury. That’s because the company was charged and pleaded guilty to three offences under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which are tried in Provincial Offences Court.

Provincial offences were downloaded to the city in 2001, and as such, any fines meted out by the courts are paid to the city.

Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, were killed June 8, 2011 after they were buried by an uncontrolled released of muck, sand and water from an ore pass at the 3,000-foot level.

“With the $1 million that’s going to be coming to the city, the first thing that goes through my mind is that the families should be compensated somehow,” said Bertrand, whose union represents Vale miners.

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Family has mixed feelings about Vale plea deal – by Heidi Ulrichsen (Sudbury Northern Life – September 21, 2013)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

The sister of one of two Vale miners killed on the job in 2011 said in some ways, she’s glad lawyers representing the company and the Crown were able to come to a plea deal agreement for charges laid in the wake of the tragedy.

At least it saved her family the pain and stress of going through the full trial, Briana Fram said. Vale pleaded guilty to three charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and was fined $1,050,000 on Sept. 17 in the deaths of Briana’s brother, Jordan Fram, as well as his co-worker, Jason Chenier.

The company originally faced nine charges, while supervisor Keith Birnie faced six. The remaining charges against Vale were dropped as part of the plea deal. The charges against Birnie were dropped after the Crown received information as part of trial submissions, and felt there was no reasonable chance of conviction.

While in some ways she’s glad not to have to go through a full trial, which was due to start in late October, Briana said she would have liked to see Vale held to account on all the charges. “We are happy they pled guilty, but it’s hard, because those charges were just so easily dropped,” she said. “That’s the way the judicial system is.”

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UPDATED: Vale fine to go to city [Sudbury] – by Star Staff (Sudbury Star – September 20, 2013)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

The more than $1 million Vale Canada was fined for the deaths of two Stobie Mine employees will go to the City of Greater Sudbury, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour confirmed Thursday.

Matt Blajer said on top of the $1.050 million fine, Vale has to pony up an additional 25% — or $250,000 — which will be put into a provincial fund for victims of crime. The fine will go into the city’s general revenue stream, city spokesperson Shannon Dowling said.

On Tuesday, Vale pleaded guilty to three charges under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act for the deaths of Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26. On June 8, 2011, the men were crushed by a 350-ton run of muck at the 3,000-foot level of the mine.

The company was originally facing nine charges, while supervisor Keith Birnie faced six. Joe Cimino, a city councillor who’s also vying for the provincial NDP nomination, called the plea bargain upsetting.

“What’s happened is, now there’s more questions in the community than there are answers,” he said. “This shut a door to a public trial. We need a full inquiry now, not in 10 years. “This is so unfair to the families.”

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Sept. 19, 1992: Labour tensions high as Yellowknife blast kills replacement gold miners – by Chris Zdeb (Edmonton Journal – September 19, 2013)

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/index.html

Nine gold miners were killed in an explosion during a strike at the Giant Gold Mine in Yellowknife in one of the worst mass murders in Canadian history. The replacement workers were riding in a man-car more than 200 metres below the surface when the blast happened about 10:30 a.m. Six victims were from Yellowknife, two from Ontario and one from New Brunswick.

The union vehemently denied any responsibility for the explosion, which was investigated by the RCMP. Still, union officials expected violence in Yellowknife to get worse as more people who blamed the union for the explosion vented their anger. The mine was built in the 1930s and owned by Royal Oak Mines Ltd. It had continued to operate through the strike with replacement workers.

About 240 members of the Canadian Association of Smelter and Allied Workers walked off the job on May 23 in response to the company asking workers to take wage and benefit cuts and to tie any new contract to the price of gold, because of declining gold prices.

Workers wanted better pension benefits, improved safety standards and a five- to 10-per-cent wage increase.

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Vale mine death plea disappoints union – by CBC News Sudbury (September 19, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/sudbury/

The union that represents workers at Vale says a $1-million fine and guilty plea related to the 2011 deaths of two of its miners aren’t enough.

The nickel miner’s plea agreement was the largest fine ever levied under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act. Vale pleaded guilty to three charges, but six other charges were dropped.

“[The fine] will not have an impact,” said Mike Bond, chair of the health, safety and environment for Steelworkers Local 6500. The union conducted its own eight-month investigation into the tragedy, and Bond maintains the company should have faced criminal charges.

“We need support from the enforcement bodies that are there to protect and hand out penalties and discipline,” he said. The plea agreement means the case will not go to trail, and Bond said Vale won’t have to answer questions about what happened.

“In our views, the facts will never be on the books,” he said. Sudbury Police investigated the deaths of Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram, but announced last year that no criminal charges would be laid.

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