A Toronto mining company has been fined $120,000 in connection with an incident that led to a worker’s critical injuries.

Glencore Canada Corporation pled guilty in a Sudbury courtroom to a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The company will also pay a 25 percent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

The incident occurred on October 20, 2023 at the company’s Nickel Rim South Mine in Skead. Two of the company’s workers were extending backfill lines and removing a ventilation curtain in a stope. A stope is an excavated underground cavity from which ore has been removed.

The workers were using a MacLean Scissor Truck. The truck was equipped with a deck on a scissor lift that enables work at heights.

During a pre-use inspection the workers noticed a missing pin on the rear railing of the scissor deck, but did not stop work or take steps to replace the pin. The purpose of the pin was to secure the rear railing in place on the scissor deck.

The area leading to the stope was not cleared of muck, or mining material, prior to the work beginning. This caused uneven movements of the truck.

During the task, the workers attempted to pull piping into alignment using a chain attached to the rear railing of the scissor deck. This was an improper method and it damaged the rear railing.

Despite this, work continued. When the truck moved forward over uneven muck, one worker on the back deck of the scissor truck fell and sustained critical injuries.

A ministry investigation determined that Glencore failed to take the reasonable precaution of ensuring muck was cleared before work began underground, contrary to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.