Karara Mining pleads guilty over injury

Magnetite miner Karara Mining has been slapped with a $120,000 fine and told to pay $7,459 in costs over a crushing incident that left an employee with a permanent hand injury.

The Mid West mining operator pleaded guilty in the Perth Magistrates court to failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment.

According to WorkSafe, the worker had been hosing off plant machinery at Karara’s magnetite mine site situated about 200 kilometers south-east of Geraldton in January 2019.

The worker put his hand into an unguarded section at the top of a dart valve while cleaning, which spontaneously operated and trapped his hand, WorkSafe recounted.

WorkSafe said dart valves were commonly used to control the flow of slurry between storage tanks and were capable of automatic operation at the company’s processing plant.

After contacting the control room operator, who closed the valve, the worker was able to free his hand and received treatment on site before being flown to Perth by the Royal Flying Doctor Service for further medical attention.

The crush incident resulted in serious injuries that required major surgery.

Acting WorkSafe chief inspector Mines Christine Folley said Karara Mining should have installed physical guarding at the dart valve to prevent access to the danger point.

“This incident was clearly avoidable, but unfortunately a worker has suffered permanent injury,” Ms Folley said.

“The dart valve did not have the required guard to restrict access, and its moving components created pinch and shear points.

“Mine operators must proactively undertake risk assessments on all plant and machinery to identify, assess and control all hazards that expose workers to risk.”

Karara installed guarding on the dart valves following the incident and conducted an audit identifying about 200 unguarded valves that could potentially allow access to pinch points.