Mining company Wiluna Operations Pty Ltd has been fined $575,000 after an apprentice mechanical fitter suffered a permanent spinal injury and became a paraplegic when a wheel assembly weighing more than 750 kilograms fell on him.
Wiluna Operations pleaded guilty to contravening sections 9(1), 9A(2) and 15C of the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 (MSI Act). The company failed to provide and maintain a working environment that, as far as practicable, did not expose its employees to hazards. Wiluna Operations’ failure caused serious harm to the apprentice, who through a labour hire arrangement was performing work for the company under the supervision of a Wiluna Operations-employed heavy diesel mechanic in the mine site’s mechanical workshop. The contraventions of Wiluna Operations of the MSI Act were assessed as if the apprentice, who was 18 years old at the time of the incident, was a direct employee of the company.
Read the media release for more information about the prosecution.
