Worker struck by a sudden flow of 'run of muck'
The Ontario government has announced the date for the inquest into the death of a 64-year-old worker that happened more than five years ago.
Edouard Gallant died on May 27, 2020, from injuries sustained while working at the Impala Canada-owned mining site in Thunder Bay.
Gallant was struck by a sudden flow of blasted ore saturated with concrete and water—referred to as a “run of muck”—at the Lac des Iles palladium mine, located within Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (Gull Bay First Nation), according to a CBC report.
The worker was at the bottom of an ore pass, attempting to remove lockout locks to allow additional muck to be evacuated, according to the report, citing information from the province’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
He had communicated with colleagues by radio about difficulties getting the muck to move. Shortly after, the muck dropped suddenly, overwhelmed protective barriers, and fatally injured Gallant.
The inquest proceedings will start on Sept. 22, at 9:30 am.
The inquest will be presided over by Dr. Jennifer Tang, with Jai Dhar serving as inquest counsel, according to Dr. Kevin Miller, Regional Supervising Coroner for the North Region, Thunder Bay Office.
The inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding Mr. Gallant’s death. The jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future, the Ontario government said.
The inquest is expected to last six days and will hear from approximately ten witnesses. Proceedings will be conducted by video conference, and members of the public will be able to view the proceedings live through a provided link.
A series of events led up to Gallant’s death, Canadian Occupational Safety previously reported. Impala Canada Ltd. had identified deterioration in an ore pass, a vertical underground opening used for ore transportation within the mine. The company hired SCR Mining and Tunnelling to repair the ore pass. SCR’s rehabilitation process involved scaling the walls, installing ground support, and shotcreting the ore pass walls in six-foot vertical sections.
The tragedy occurred during the repair work when an unusual amount of shotcrete rebounded off the walls, and water collected on top of the muck. On the day of the accident, SCR initiated a muck drawdown, during which an SCR worker entered the loading pocket platform to remove lockout locks to evacuate additional muck. Unfortunately, the flow of muck was not controlled by the guillotine gate, causing the muck—saturated with shotcrete—to overwhelm the protective barriers and fatally injure the worker.
It was also revealed that the Lac des Iles Mine had an underground water management plan in place, but it did not include procedures to guard against the addition and accumulation of water in ore passes during repair activities.
