No outsourcing mine safety: Marmion

Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Marmion has flagged new industry safety guidelines in the wake of five mining fatalities in Western Australia in nine months.

A 63-year-old man died on Monday while working at Stone Resources Australia's Brightstar gold mine near Laverton.

It was the fifth death at a WA mine site since August 2013, when a two year fatality-free run at the state's mines came to an end with the death of a 24-year-old contractor at Fortescue Metals Group's Christmas Creek mine. 

Another worker died at Christmas Creek in December that year, prompting FMG to take over ownership of the mine's two ore processing plants from Mineral Resources subsidiary Crushing Services International.

A worker also died at Newcrest Mining's Telfer mine in the Pilbara that month, while another worker died at Central Norseman Gold Corporation's Harlequin mine in the Goldfields in February this year.

WA mine fatalities, 2000-2012 (Source: Bill Marmion's office) 

The Department of Mines and Petroleum this week called for industry submissions on new guidelines for health and safety supervision.

Mr Marmion said the latest fatality was "a tragic reminder that there is absolutely no room for complacency" on safety in the industry.

“I make no comment on the circumstances of this incident but I will say in general that, with the resources sector facing tighter margins, it is the responsibility of industry to guarantee safety is never short-changed," he said.  

“Safety is an obligation on everyone in the mining industry, including contractors, but it’s incumbent on mining companies to drive the overall safety culture across their operations. Safety is not something you can outsource.”

The number of mining fatalities in WA has been on a downward trend since the beginning of the 2000s, despite a strong increase in the number of total employees in the industry.

Mr Marmion said industry organisations had an obligation to ensure all of their members were focused on increasing mine safety.