- Copper-focused miner OZ Minerals (OZL) reports a fatal incident involving a contractor at its Prominent Hill mine in South Australia
- According to the ABC, emergency services were called to the site at about 3:25 pm on Sunday
- A 43-year-old man from Adelaide’s south, working for underground mining contractor Byrnecut, was crushed by machinery and died at the scene
- The incident is currently being investigated and operations at Prominent Hill have been temporarily suspended
- Shares in OZ Minerals are up 0.37 per cent to $24.33 at 10:30 am AEST
Copper-focused miner OZ Minerals (OZL) has reported a fatal incident involving a contractor at its Prominent Hill mine in South Australia.
According to the ABC, emergency services were called to the site — roughly 650 kilometres northwest of Adelaide and 130 kilometres southeast of Coober Pedy — at about 3:25 pm on Sunday. Police said a 43-year-old man from Aberfoyle Park in Adelaide’s south, working for underground mining contractor Byrnecut, had been crushed by machinery and died at the scene.
“This incident has had a profound impact on our workforce and our priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone at site,” said Andrew Cole, Managing Director and CEO of OZ Minerals, in a statement released this morning.
“Byrnecut and OZ Minerals are providing support to the worker’s family during this very difficult time.”
The incident is currently being investigated by the South Australian Police and Safework SA, and operations at Prominent Hill have been temporarily suspended.
“My heart goes out to the family and friends of the person who has passed away and, of course, think about the people on site who would have found this person at work underground and who would have been closely involved in trying to save his life,” said South Australian minister for Mineral Resources Dan van Holst Pellekaan.
“This is very sad, very serious and I know all of the workers and everybody in the company take it incredibly seriously and will do everything they can to discover what went wrong.”
Shares in OZ Minerals are up 0.37 per cent to $24.33 at 10:30 am AEST.