The death of a worker last month has prompted Fortescue Metals Group to invoke their contractual right to take back management of its Christmas Creek ore processing plant from contractor Crushing Services International.
A Fortescue spokesperson said the company “has taken this action as part of working with CSI and its parent company Mineral Resources to ensure the safe and hazard free operation of the Ore Processing Facilities”.
CSI and Mineral Resources are reportedly cooperating with Fortescue in the management handover.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident Electrical Trades Union WA secretary Les McLaughlan said, “This man’s death is a tragedy and we believe it may have been prevented if CSI had listened to our concerns about its safety practices,” he said, “Working on live equipment is inherently dangerous. What we need to know is whether the company took any extra safety precautions after we raised these concerns.”
Fortescue has said it expects only minor disruption to production while conducting the handover and that all Crushing Services employees will keep their jobs under Fortescue management.
The last WA mines fatality occurred in August 2011, with 2012 recording its first fatality-free year in more than a century.
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