Another Reason to Not Go Into the Mining Industry

Man's Death Avoidable at Beaconsfield Gold Mine

THE Tasmanian coroner this morning has found that the death of miner Larry Knight may have been avoidable had the Beaconsfield Gold mine undertaken a proper risk assessment process.While Rod Chandler found there was insufficient evidence to make negative findings against any individual, he concluded the mine had failed to put in place a “comprehensive and independent reassessment of the ground support system” at the mine. “Nevertheless it is my view that the likelihood of Mr Knight's death occurring would have been reduced, perhaps significantly, if Beaconsfield Gold had undertaken such an assessment,” Mr Chandler said at the conclusion of an inquest into the death of Mr Knight in a rockfall at the mine on April 25, 2006, which also entombed fellow miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb for two weeks. “A lesson to be learned from Mr Knight's tragic death is the critical importance of proper risk management practices to worker safety, particularly in the mine industry.”

Pfft. I mainly didn't want to go into the mining industry because of how crud the pay was. But now, I have another reason.