2 men killed in ‘devastating’ Australian mining incident
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The two men are said to have fallen down a hole at MMG’s zinc mine.
PHOTO: MMG.COM
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SYDNEY – Two men were found dead on Thursday after plunging down a “void” in a remote Australian zinc mine.
The miners were in a light utility vehicle which tumbled into an ore extraction tunnel on Wednesday at the Dugald River mine in Queensland, the facility’s owner said in a statement.
Colleagues have described the latest news as a “devastating” end to a more than 24-hour rescue effort.
“This is a devastating outcome and I want to extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to the families, friends, colleagues and loved ones of Trevor and Dylan,” Perenti chief executive Mark Norwell said.
Perenti Group is the parent company of Barminco, the contractor that employed the two miners.
Miners Trevor Davis, 36, and Dylan Langridge, 33, were fatally injured in the incident, which happened about 125m underground.
Perenti said the two men were “valued team members and well respected” and had fallen 15m into a below-ground “void”.
The Dugald River mine, owned by mining company MMG, employs about 500 people near the isolated town of Cloncurry in western Queensland, about 20 hours’ drive inland from the state capital Brisbane.
According to MMG, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the mine processes about 1.7 million tonnes of ore every year.
Mining is one of the bedrocks of Australia’s economy.
The country holds almost 30 per cent of the world’s reserves of zinc, lithium and nickel.
Studies have found Australia’s mining sector to be one of the safest by international standards.
But according to the government, it is still the third-deadliest industry in the country. AFP
