Local police and the Ministry of Labour are investigating an underground death mid-afternoon Thursday at Inco's Creighton Mine.
Chad Lamond, 20, of Dowling was killed after reportedly falling some 700 feet from a staging platform. He was a Moran Mining and Tunnelling Ltd. employee helping with the construction of a ventilation raise, a vertical tunnel which allows air to be brought into the lower workings of a mine.
The work was part of the Creighton Deep Project, a large capital effort designed to deepen the mine.
According to Inco spokesperson Cory McPhee, Lamond and other employees were bolting and screening the walls of the tunnel. McPhee said the investigation now underway will determine how Lamond fell to his death. He wouldn't speculate whether the worker was wearing a safety harness.
McPhee calls the death tragic.
"Our thoughts and our prayers are with the Lamond family," said the Inco spokesperson. "It's a loss for our community."
McPhee said even though Moran Mining had control of the work area, Inco is the property owner and has offered to assist the contractor in every way possible as they work through the investigation process. Moran Mining has worked with Inco on other projects besides the Creighton project.
There hasn't been an underground death at Inco since a blasting accident claimed the life of Frederick James Plummer at the South Mine three years ago.
An inquest into the death of the 46-year-old will begin April 22.
