BHP Closes Perseverance Nickel Mine After Fresh Rockfall
June 30 2009 - 1:23AM
Dow Jones News
BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) said Tuesday it temporarily closed
the underground Perseverance nickel mine in Western Australia after
the second rockfall caused by a seismic event at the operation this
month.
One worker was trapped underground after the rockfall for about
90 minutes before walking out unharmed, and all staff are now safe
and accounted for, a spokeswoman for BHP said.
The mine will be closed until it is determined whether it is
safe to begin operating again, she said.
The incident at the mine, sparked by seismic activity late
Monday registering 2.3 on the Richter scale, follows a rockfall on
June 11, which also trapped a miner underground.
The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union said the incident
was the latest in a string of safety problems at BHP mines and
called for a federal parliamentary inquiry into mine safety.
"An independent inquiry is urgently needed to investigate why
these tragic events happen on BHP mine sites and to recommend what
needs to be done to guarantee the safety of BHP workers," the
AMWU's Western Australian State Secretary, Steve McCartney, said in
a statement.
-By Alex Wilson, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9292-2094;
alex.wilson@dowjones.com