THE PRESIDENT of BHP Billiton Iron Ore, Ian Ashby, has acknowledged that the recent safety performance within Western Australia Iron Ore was unacceptable to the business and has had an enormous impact on many lives. There have been five fatalities at the company’s operations in the Pilbara since July 2008.
The company says it apologises to all those affected by the events that have taken place.
Following the miner’s meeting with the West Australian Minister for Mines the company is taking actions to improve safety.
An extensive, independent expert investigation of safety systems at all Western Australia Iron Ore’s operations is already underway. This independent review is being conducted under Section 45 of the Mines Safety and Inspection Act. The review commenced in October 2008 and is due to be completed and presented to the State Mining Engineer by 30 April 2009.
BHP Billiton says while the review has not yet been completed, it is taking following actions to reduce site access, improve contractor management and enhance existing strategies to prevent excess working hours.
The miner says it is also moving rail operations from the Mine Safety and Inspection Act to the Rail Safety Act, enhancing traffic management standards and suspending all non-essential work outside daylight hours.
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