Fatality statistics in the Western Australian mining industry
Encyclopedia
These are Fatality statistics in the Western Australian mining industry which capture the number of people killed in the industry in the Australia
n state of Western Australia
. The Department of Mines and Petroleum
, DMP, the governing authority for the industry in the state, has published statistics for fatalities in mining dating back to 1943. Eventually, the department plans to publish statistics dating back to 1886, also these will not be able to be complete. Records up until 1967 are not categorised by commodity and instead appear as "not categorised" in the listing. From 1967, categorisation began and, after 1968, almost all fatalities are categorised.
The department lists the fatality statistics categorised by commodity, date, fiscal year, occupation, causes, report status and type of mining, meaning underground or surface.
In 2006, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia commissioned a taxonomic
study to analyse the 306 mining fatalities which occurred between 1970 and 2006.
As of July 2011, the latest fatality that has occurred in the Western Australian mining industry was on 16 August 2011 at Rio Tinto
's Brockman 2 mine facility. All of the last four fatalities have occurred in the iron ore sector of the industry.
The statistics do not include the 2000 Australia Beechcraft King Air crash
, when a flight to the Gwalia Gold Mine
, with seven Sons of Gwalia
employees onboard failed to land, instead continuing on to Burketown
, where it eventually crashed, having run out of fuel. The pilot and the planes seven passengers were all killed.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n state of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. The Department of Mines and Petroleum
Department of Mines and Petroleum
The Department of Mines and Petroleum is a department of the Government of Western Australia. The department was formed on 1 January 2009, out of the former Department of Industry and Resources and Department of Consumer and Employment Protection, which were split into three new departments, the...
, DMP, the governing authority for the industry in the state, has published statistics for fatalities in mining dating back to 1943. Eventually, the department plans to publish statistics dating back to 1886, also these will not be able to be complete. Records up until 1967 are not categorised by commodity and instead appear as "not categorised" in the listing. From 1967, categorisation began and, after 1968, almost all fatalities are categorised.
The department lists the fatality statistics categorised by commodity, date, fiscal year, occupation, causes, report status and type of mining, meaning underground or surface.
In 2006, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia commissioned a taxonomic
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
study to analyse the 306 mining fatalities which occurred between 1970 and 2006.
As of July 2011, the latest fatality that has occurred in the Western Australian mining industry was on 16 August 2011 at Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto
- Businesses :* Rio Tinto Group, a British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne* Rio Tinto Alcan, a Canadian aluminum mining and production company headquartered in Montreal-Portugal:...
's Brockman 2 mine facility. All of the last four fatalities have occurred in the iron ore sector of the industry.
The statistics do not include the 2000 Australia Beechcraft King Air crash
2000 Australia Beechcraft King Air crash
Sierra Kilo Charlie was the call sign for chartered Beechcraft 200 Super King Air which, on 4 September 2000, crashed near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. The flight plan of the aircraft called for the pilot to fly between Perth, Western Australia, and the mining town of Leonora, Western...
, when a flight to the Gwalia Gold Mine
Gwalia Gold Mine
The Gwalia Gold Mine is located at Gwalia, a few kilometres south of Leonora, Western Australia. It was originally established by Welsh miners in the late 19th century and Herbert Hoover, the later President of the United States, served as the mine manager in its early days from May to November...
, with seven Sons of Gwalia
Sons of Gwalia
Sons of Gwalia was a Western Australian mining company which mined gold, tantalum, spodumene, lithium and tin.Sons of Gwalia was Australia's third-largest gold producer and also controlled more than half the world's production of tantalum, before entering administration in August 2004 following a...
employees onboard failed to land, instead continuing on to Burketown
Burketown, Queensland
- Morning glory cloud :From the months of August to November, a rare meteorological phenomenon known as "Morning Glory" - long, tubular clouds, some up to 1000 km in length - is often observed in the skies above Burketown.....
, where it eventually crashed, having run out of fuel. The pilot and the planes seven passengers were all killed.
Recent fatalities
The four fatalities which occurred in 2010 and 2011 in the Western Australian mining industry were:- 11 April 2010: An underground loader operator at the Perseverance nickel mine at LeinsterLeinster, Western AustraliaLeinster is a town in the northern goldfields area of Western Australia. The town is located 4 km east of the Goldfields Highway, in the Shire of Leonora Local Government Area, northeast of the state capital, Perth...
, operated by BHP BillitonBHP BillitonBHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
, drove into an open stope void and fell 20 metres. - 5 August 2010: An underground miner at the Norseman Gold MineNorseman Gold MineThe Norseman Gold Mine is a gold mine located at Norseman, Western Australia.It is operated by Norseman Gold Plc and is Australia’s longest continuously running gold mining operation...
in the Eastern Goldfields was found dead at a new escape rise. - 24 December 2010: A maintenance contractor at the Cloud Break mineCloud Break mineThe Cloudbreak mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 89 kilometres west-south-west of Nullagine, in the Chichester Range....
, an iron ore mine operated by the Fortescue Metals GroupFortescue Metals GroupFortescue Metals Group is an Australian iron ore mining company. The company has holdings of more than 87,000 km² in the Pilbara region of Western Australia making it the largest tenement holder in the state. It is listed as FMG on the Australian Securities Exchange .In 2008, the group loaded...
and located in the Pilbara, was fatally injured. - 4 June 2011: A scaffolder was fatally injured at Rio Tinto's Cape LambertCape LambertCape Lambert is a port facility operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is located 40 kilometres north of Karratha.-Overview:...
port facilities. It was the companies first fatality in the Pilbara since August 2003. - 7 July 2011: A contractor was crushed by a collapsing crane at BHP Billiton's Port Hedland facility.
- 16 August 2011: An employee was killed at Rio Tinto's Brockman 2 mine, being crushed by a hydraulic cylinder of a front-end loader.
Multiple fatalities
Multiple fatalities in the Western Australian mining industry are very rare nowadays and none have occurred since June 2000. Here a list of all multiple fatalities in the industry since 1943:- 2000, 26 June: Three men died as a result of the failure of a sandfill bulkhead at Bronzewing Gold MineBronzewing Gold MineThe Bronzewing Gold Mine is a gold mine located approximately 83 km north-east of Leinster, Western Australia. The mine, owned by Navigator Resources Limited, was, until early 2010, in care and maintenance after its previous owner, View Resources Limited went into administration.The mine is...
, located in the northern Goldfields. - 1997, 1 September: Two men died during a rockfall in a stope at an underground nickel mine.
- 1990, 7 February: Two men, a foreman and the managing director of a contracting company, died when a concrete block fell down the raise in an underground gold mine.
- 1989, 13 June: Six men died when a decline in an underground gold mine flooded after heavy rain.
- 1985, 11 December: Two men died in the stope of an underground nickel mine due to lack of oxygen.
- 1978, 9 June: Two men died, suffocating, while cleaning a converter vessel in a nickel plant.
- 1977, 14 July: Two men died, being struck by an iron ore train while doing track maintenance.
- 1977, 27 April: Five men died when a kibbleKibbleKibble is the act of coarsely grinding something such as grain.Kibble may also refer to: adam kibble.* Kibble, a component of dog food or cat food, as in Kibbles 'n Bits* Chris Kibble , British jazz musician...
fell into the shaft of an underground nickel mine due to a winder malfunction. - 1975, 28 May: Two men were killed by a rock fall in an underground nickel mine.
- 1974, 13 August: Two men died in a head-on collision of two in an iron ore mine.
- 1960, 12 October: Two men were killed in an explosives accident underground.
- 1960, 24 August: Two men were killed when falling out of a cage.
- 1954, 18 November: Two men were killed in an explosives accident.
- 1953, 5 January: Two men died when they were buried by a ground fall.
- 1952, 19 July: Two men died when they were buried by a slime dump.
- 1951, 30 November: Two men were killed in a gas explosion.
- 1951, 5 October: Two men were killed in an explosives accident.
- 1951, 1 June: Three men were killed when crushed by an out-of-control trailer in an underground mine.
- 1950, 10 March: Two men were struck by a descending counterweight.
- 1950, 13 January: Two men were killed by the air blast of a massive rock fall.
- 1946, 1 March: Three men were killed in an underground rock fall.
- 1946, 23 January: Two men were killed in a blast.
- 1943, 17 July: Three men died of suffocation underground, two of them while attempting to rescue the third.
Fatalities statistics
These are the statistics of fatalities by year, type of mining and commodity, subdivided into decades:2011 to 2020
Fatalities in the current decade, as of 25 August 2011:| Year | GD Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a... |
IO | NI Nickel Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile... |
BM | B Bauxite Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2... A |
DI | DS Dimension stone Dimension stone is natural stone or rock that has been selected and fabricated to specific sizes or shapes. Color, texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements... |
SM Surface mining Surface mining , is a type of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed... |
UM | All |
| 2011 | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | 3 |
| 2011–2020 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
2001 to 2010
Fatalities in the last decade:| Year | GD Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a... |
IO | NI Nickel Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile... |
BM | B Bauxite Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2... A |
DI | DS Dimension stone Dimension stone is natural stone or rock that has been selected and fabricated to specific sizes or shapes. Color, texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements... |
SM Surface mining Surface mining , is a type of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed... |
UM | All |
| 2001 | – | 1 | 3 | – | – | – | 2 | 6 | – | 6 |
| 2002 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2003 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 2004 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 2005 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2006 | 1 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2007 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2008 | 1 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | 4 |
| 2009 | 2 | 3 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 2010 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2001–2010 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 13 | 42 |
- Only the commodities with fatalities during this decade are listed.
1943 to 2010
Fatalities by decade:| Year | GD Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a... |
IO | NI Nickel Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile... |
BM | B Bauxite Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2... A |
CY Clay Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals... |
CL Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure... |
CM | DI | DS Dimension stone Dimension stone is natural stone or rock that has been selected and fabricated to specific sizes or shapes. Color, texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements... |
MS | SA Salt In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral... |
T Tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4... T Tantalum Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as tantalium, the name comes from Tantalus, a character in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a rare, hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion resistant. It is part of the refractory... |
OT | NC ‡ | All |
| 1943–1950 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 107 | 107 |
| 1951–1960 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 142 | 142 |
| 1961–1970 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 55 | 92 |
| 1971–1980 | 15 | 44 | 31 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 6 | – | – | 5 | 3 | – | 4 | 1 | 114 |
| 1981–1990 | 44 | 8 | 19 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 2 | – | 4 | 4 | 1 | 89 |
| 1991–2000 | 42 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 2 | – | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 71 |
| 2001–2010 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 42 |
| 1943–2010 | 127 | 86 | 75 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 307 | 657 |
- ‡ Up until the late 1960s, all fatalities are listed under "not categorised" in the DMP database.
Key
- GD: GoldGoldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
- IO: Iron ore
- BM: Base metals
- BA: BauxiteBauxiteBauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
and Alumina - CY: ClayClayClay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
- CL: CoalCoalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
- CM: Construction materials
- DI: Diamonds
- DM: Dimension stoneDimension stoneDimension stone is natural stone or rock that has been selected and fabricated to specific sizes or shapes. Color, texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements...
- MS: Mineral sands
- NI: NickelNickelNickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
- SA: SaltSaltIn chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
- TT: TinTinTin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
, TantalumTantalumTantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as tantalium, the name comes from Tantalus, a character in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a rare, hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion resistant. It is part of the refractory...
and LithiumLithiumLithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly...
- OT: Other
- NC: Not categorised
- SM: Surface miningSurface miningSurface mining , is a type of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed...
- UM: Underground mining
- All: Overall