Safety lapses led to a critical underground fall
A Toronto-based mining company has been fined $120,000 after a worker suffered critical injuries in an underground fall at an Ontario mine.
Glencore Canada Corporation pleaded guilty Dec. 8, 2025, in Sudbury Provincial Offences Court to failing to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker, contrary to section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, according to a court bulletin issued by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
Justice of the Peace Sharon K. Ashick imposed the fine. Crown Counsel Graeme Adams prosecuted the case. The court also imposed a 25% victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act, which is credited to a special provincial fund to assist victims of crime.
The incident occurred Oct. 20, 2023, at Glencore’s Nickel Rim South Mine, located in Skead, Ont. Two workers were extending backfill lines and removing a ventilation curtain in a stope—an excavated underground cavity from which ore has been removed—according to the bulletin.
The workers were using a MacLean Scissor Truck equipped with a deck on a scissor lift for work at heights. During a pre-use inspection, they noticed a missing pin on the rear railing of the scissor deck but did not stop work or replace the pin. The pin was designed to secure the rear railing in place, the bulletin said.
The area leading to the stope had not been cleared of muck, or mining material, before work began, causing the truck to move unevenly. 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 described as an improper method that damaged the railing.
Work continued despite the damage. 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 found that Glencore failed to ensure muck was cleared before work began underground, contrary to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the bulletin stated.
Data and safety reports show that nearly 40% of critical injuries in Ontario’s mining sector between 2023 and 2024 were related to slips, trips and falls, prompting regulators to launch a focused health and safety campaign. Inspectors are focusing on housekeeping in workplaces, environmental conditions where workers are working, how workers are mounting and dismounting mobile equipment, and how workplaces are maintaining materials, equipment, and protective devices.
