The 2015 death of Sudbury miner Richard Pigeau, who was thrown and run over by an underground vehicle at a Glencore nickel-copper mine, has netted a $200,000 fine to the company.
The incident took place on October 20, 2015, at the Nickel Rim South Mine.
Glencore pleaded guilty in a Sudbury courtroom to failing as an employer to provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the safety of the worker, contrary to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, specifically to failing to provide sufficient information regarding the use of the seatbelt while operating a load haul dump (LHD).
Justice of the Peace Michael G. Kitlar imposed the fine on Aug. 28.
According to a Ministry of Labour news release, Pigeau was operating the LHD, which is used in the underground operation to move broken rock or ore. While operating the vehicle on a ramp, it appeared the bucket made contact with a wall on the right.
The LHD continued to move; the worker was ejected from the operator's compartment and was run over by one of the vehicle's tires. Pigeau died from the injuries.
The company established a joint investigation team of workers in the union and Glencore staff representatives.
Investigations by the Ministry of Labour and the joint investigation team suggested that the door to the operator's compartment of the vehicle opened while it was moving down the ramp.
The initial contact with the wall was believed to cause the worker's ejection from the compartment. There were no witnesses.
The worker was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the incident although there was a functioning seatbelt in the compartment.
The Crown and the company agreed that the worker may have been injured in the incident while wearing the seatbelt but would likely not have been killed.
The court also 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.
