IRON ORE MINER KILLED

by Cole Latimer

Source: Safety at Work

A miner has reportedly died at Rio Tinto's Brockman 2 operations.

Rio Tinto has confirmed that a 27 year old miner was fatally injured at the mine just after 8pm yesterday.

The man was charging an hydraulic cylinder on a front end loader at the time of the accident.

Police, the Department of Mines and Petroleum, and other relevant authorities have been notified.

Rio Tinto Pilbara operations president Greg Lilleyman said the incident would be "thoroughly investigated" and the Rio Tinto investigation team would arrive at the site later this week.

"This is a tragic reminder of the importance of working safely," Lilleyman said.

"There should be no higher priority than this, and we cannot accept that accidents in the workplace are inevitable or acceptable."

Work at the mine, and its adjacent Nammuldi mine has been stopped.