WorkSafe

The Dangerous Goods Rail Transport Safety Working Group will provide an overview of dangerous goods rail transport activity in WA, act as an intermediary between operators and industry regulators and provide input to assessing, accepting and reporting rail transport risk.

This year will see the inaugural Work Health and Safety Excellence Awards hosted by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS).

The awards combine the former Work Safety Awards and the Safety and Health Resources Sector Awards to create one awards ceremony celebrating safety across Western Australian workplaces.

Nominations for the awards will be opening soon and the awards ceremony will be held in October.

Karara Mining Ltd was fined $40,000 in Perth Magistrates Court yesterday (13/2) following an incident where a gantry crane collided with an elevated work platform (EWP) being used by two electrical workers.

The incident happened on 3 August 2015 at the Karara Iron Ore Project, located about 200km east of Geraldton and the workers were approximately 12 metres off the ground in the basket of the EWP.

Silver Lake Resources Ltd has been fined $58,000 in Perth Magistrates Court following an incident that seriously injured a worker at its Murchison Gold Operation 25km southeast of Cue in 2014.

Boilermaker Jayden Robinson, was working at Silver Lake's Tuckabianna Processing Plant on 17 April 2014 when the incident occurred.

Golden Grove Operations Pty Ltd has been fined $35,500 after an integrated tool carrier and blast truck fell into a 13-metre deep hole at the company’s Golden Grove precious metals mine southeast of Yalgoo in October 2018.

While no one was injured in the incident, three workers from a blast crew had been working in close proximity to the bomb truck minutes earlier.

A number of charged blast holes were also engulfed in the sinkhole.

Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd has been fined $75,000 after a worker was fatally injured when the truck he was driving crashed at the company’s Channar iron ore mine in August 2018.

Hamersley Iron, a Rio Tinto subsidiary, pleaded guilty in the South Hedland Magistrates Court to causing the death of an employee.

On the day of the incident, the worker was driving down ramp 84E that has a gradient mostly between 8 and 10 per cent and is around 1.2km long.

The tragic loss of life and significant environmental impacts associated with the failure of a tailings storage facility (TSF) at Vale’s Córrego do Feijão iron ore mine in Brazil has highlighted the devastation that can occur when critical mine infrastructure fails.

In light of this tragedy it is important to provide information about similar infrastructure on Western Australian mines and how it is regulated.

There are more than 800 TSFs in Western Australia, with approximately two thirds categorised as shut - including historic TSFs.

ThinkSafe is the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety's (DMIRS) new online publication for workplace safety and health in Western Australia.

DMIRS Deputy Director General Safety Ian Munns said that while the look, design and production of the magazine has changed, its primary aims haven't.

"The new-look online magazine ThinkSafe will play an important role in raising general awareness of safety and health issues," Mr Munns said.

Dampier Salt Limited was today fined $20,000 and ordered to pay $6,283 in costs after a worker’s head and neck became trapped while working at height at the company’s Port Hedland salt operations.

In July 2018, two contractors were using an elevating work platform (EWP) to inspect the underside of a large salt stacker. A third man was working at ground level as the leading hand and spotter.

• Program designed to stamp out sexual harassment and assault in the resources sector
• Extra funding will address mental health, workplace culture, and drug and alcohol use

The McGowan Government today announced an additional $6.5 million for the Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) program as part of the State Budget 2022-23.

Launched in December 2021, the MARS program boosts responses to mental health, workplace culture and mine safety in Western Australia’s mining sector.