When a tragedy occurs, there's a “natural inclination to want to know who or what is to blame,” Kelly Strong, Vale's vice-president of North Atlantic mining and milling operations, said.
But when it comes to the June 8, 2011 deaths of Vale miners Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, at Stobie Mine, it's not that simple, he said.
The miners were killed after about 350 tons of muck, or ore, unexpectedly entered the 3,000 foot level ore pass drift where they were working at around 9:45 p.m. that evening.
“There is no one definite answer to that question,” Strong said.
“There appears to be a number of contributing factors to the run of muck. A plan of action, including more than 30 recommendations, has been compiled to put control measures in place to control these potential causes, and they are currently being implemented.
“Our primary focus is now putting measures in place to prevent a similar incident from ever occuring.”
Strong briefed the media Jan. 24 about the results of the company's investigation into the miners' deaths. He said the results of the investigation have already been shared with the victims' families, and the company is in the process of sharing it with Vale workers.
Everybody at Stobie Mine was “following procedures and doing what they were supposed to do” in the days and hours leading up to the incident, he said.
One of the factors which led to the accident was a process called “remnant mining,” where some mining had been done in an old mine shaft above where the miners were working, he said. This shaft was filled with “backfill,” or a sandy tailings material.
“You don't want some of that material mixed in with the ore as a dilutant to the ore,” Strong said. “But it does occur from time to time.”
Wet, sandy material was found in the muck which killed the miners, which led investigators to believe some of the backfill material had mixed in with the muck.
Kelly Strong, Vale's vice-president of North Atlantic mining and milling operations, spoke to reporters Jan. 24 about the company's investigation into the deaths of two miners at its Stobie Mine last summer. Photo by Heidi Ulrichsen.
There was also some issues with “water management,” with some plugged drain holes, leading the muck to be wet.
This led to one of two scenarios, Strong said.
One scenario is that “there was a buildup of wet, fine sandy muck above the crash gate on the 3,000 level, which collapsed and drove its way down the ore pass, overtaking the two individuals.”
The other scenario is that “there was a hangup of wet, fine sandy muck above coarser material, which unexpectedly let go.”
In either scenario, it is clear that the gate at the 3,000 foot level was open, and that the ore pass was full below the 3,000 foot level, which caused the deflection upwards of the muck into the drift where Chenier and Fram were located, according to information provided by Vale.
Other factors which led to the accident include practices and procedures, roles and responsibilities for various tasks underground and training and awareness, according to Strong.
The 30 recommendations being put forward by Vale following the investigation address such things as improved practices around water management, ore mixing, ore pass management, roles and responsibilities, training and awareness, hazard recognition and risk assessment and auditing to validate the effectiveness of controls.
Strong said the company has already implemented some of these recommendations. When asked how the Chenier and Fram families are reacting to the results of the investigation, Strong said it would be inappropriate for him to comment out of respect for their privacy.
Steelworkers Local 6500, the union which represents Vale miners, and the Ministry of Labour are also conducting their own, seperate investigations into the incident. Neither organization has released their reports yet.
Vale is committed to “learning from these investigations, and to considering other recommendations into our action plan that may surface as a result of those findings,” according to information provided by the company.
Ministry of Labour spokesperson Matt Blajer said the ministry's investigation is completely different from Vale's.
“Our investigation is to see what happened, and if the Occupational Health and Safety Act was complied with,” he said. “It's a much more detailed process. There's nothing new to report from our end.”
Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand was not immediately available for comment on the issue.
Posted by Heidi Ulrichsen
