Lac Des Iles Mine fined $365K for 2014 fatality, injuries

An Ontario court has fined Lac Des Iles Mines Ltd. $365,000 after separate incidents in 2014 in which one worker was injured and another killed due to the movement of mined material.

On July 10, 2014, 38-year-old Pascal Goulet, was killed at the mine located north of Thunder Bay. Gouletwasstruck by a piece of ore while he was outside of the loader he was operating underground.

The Ministry of Labour stated in a news releaseTuesday that Goulet "was found lifeless in a location about 6.75 metres ahead of the 'safe-limit line' (also known as a no-go line), painted on the wall. A safe-limit line designates a hazard zone to workers."

"It was not known why the worker was ahead of the safe-limit line outside the cab of the loader; the bucket was full of rock and raised, its engine still running with lights on and the operator cab door was open," the release stated.

The ministryissued a number of orders to the mining company, including one to ensure that written safety precautions and procedures were established and used before, during and after removal of material.

Lac Des Iles Mines has complied with the order by developing a written policy that no worker outside a loader would be permitted ahead of the safe-limit line without permission from a supervisor, the ministry noted.

Fines, victim surcharges levied

In a Thunder Bay court on Jan. 18, Justice of the Peace Raymond Zuliani found the company guilty of failing to ensure that writtensafety precautions and procedures were established and followed to prevent a worker from being outside of a loader while ahead of the safe-limit line, and fined Lac Des Iles $300,000.

The company was also fined $65,000 for another incident, which happened on Feb. 22, 2014, when another equipment operator was injured.

The ministry reported the worker was loading mine haulage trucks with an excavator when the working face of the stockpile failed, sending a large amount of material onto the excavator. It crushed the operator's cab, its controls and radio, trapping the worker inside, where the worker was unable to radio for assistance, shut down the motor or get free of the cab.

Another mine haulage truck operator discovered the trapped worker and mine rescue personnel extricated the worker about two hours after the incident. The worker suffered hand and leg injuries, according to the ministry.

In addition to the fines, the court imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.