Investigations underway at Waihi Gold mine

18 July 2012

Investigations underway at Waihi Gold mine

The safe extraction of 28 miners following a truck engine fire in the Trio underground gold mine in Waihi yesterday was testament to Newmont Waihi Gold’s mine safety standards and training, General Manager Glen Grindlay said.

“Our priority now is to investigate yesterday’s incident, and staff underground at the time will be interviewed as part of that process, said Mr Grindlay. “But this was a textbook rescue. It’s a scenario we train for regularly. Everyone involved knew what to do, and the guys underground knew they were safe and help was on its way.”

Mr Grindlay acknowledged that wider questions about mine safety regulations would be raised by this event.

“The investigation is in an early stage and we need to let it run its course to find out what happened. But what we can say is that in six years of underground mining in Waihi this is the first incident of this type we have had. And what we do know is that all of our guys got out safely. Our people, our systems, our equipment and our training all worked as they should have worked.

“We are guided not just by New Zealand mine safety regulations, but are also heavily influenced by the regulations adhered to by our operations in Australia,” he said.

“As a gold mine, there was no danger of an explosion. But we still had to ensure our response was safe, and by the book,” said Mr Grindlay. “The men were in refuge chambers that were a considerable distance away from the fire. The chambers can each accommodate 20 people safely for at least 36 hours. The men had water, lighting and a chemical toilet. They knew they were safe and while obviously keen to get to the surface, they knew help was on the way.”

Tandem investigations are already underway by Newmont and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s High Hazards Unit.Page 2 of 2

“Fires like the one yesterday can smoulder for a day or two,” said Mr Grindlay. “Because of the risk of tyres exploding the best thing to do is just leave them to burn out, rather than attempt to put them out.”

He said underground mine operations were likely to reopen “within days, not weeks” but that would depend on how quickly the investigations went.

Operations in the Martha open cast mine will resume today. The Martha mine is not connected to the Trio underground workings.

While the incident was attended by Newmont’s own Mine Rescue teams, Mr Grindlay said, “we fully appreciated the offers of help from the wider New Zealand mining industry”.

www.waihigold.co.nz

ENDS

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