Mount Lyell copper mine halted indefinitely during probe into workers death |
| Mount Lyell copper mine halted indefinitely during probe into workers death Posted: 11 Dec 2013 07:10 AM PST  Western end of Mount Lyell – with signs of mining operations on the southwestern flank. Image from WikiMedia Commons. Mining has been suspended indefinitely at Copper Mines of Tasmania's Mount Lyell mine on the Australia's state island 's west coast while authorities investigate Monday's incidents that cost the life of two workers. Craig Gleeson, 45 and Alastair Lucas, 25, died after falling 35 metres from a maintenance platform in the mine's main shaft. Copper Mines of Tasmania, a subsidiary of Indian company Vedanta (LON: VED), says police have instructed them to not discuss the specifics of the accident. However, ABC News reports that determining whether the men were wearing safety harnesses is a significant part of the investigation. The probe could take several months to complete.  |
| One more spill at Rio Tinto uranium mine Posted: 11 Dec 2013 03:12 AM PST  The Rossing uranium mine is the longest-running and one of the largest open pit uranium mines in the world, located in the Namib Desert. A week before Rio Tinto's (ASX: RIO) Ranger uranium mine in Australia's Northern Territory spilled a million litres of radioactive slurry, a similar accident had happened at the company's Rossing Uranium mine in Africa, the company confirmed Wednesday. Rio's second major radioactive incident this month occurred on December 3, after one of 12 leach tanks in the processing plant at Rossing, located in the Namib Desert, failed. The company, however, did not say how much of the radioactive slurry – which, like the Ranger spill, also contained acid – was spilled. What Rio did say was that some employees were treated at the scene for "minor" injuries and that there was no environmental impact. It added the leach tank had structural damage and that the company was investigating the cause of the spill. A Northern Territory Environment Centre spokeswoman told ABC News that the situation was "very concerning." "Across two continents, within the same week, we have seen the same copy cat failure (…) It is just incredible that these types of incidents are happening on this scale," she was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, Rio's Ranger uranium mine was suspended from processing uranium on Monday by the federal government as it launched an audit of the site. Energy Resources of Australia (ASX: ERA), the operator of Rio's mine in Australia, has applied to open another uranium mine 22km from the Ranger site. |
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