Fatality statistics in the Western Australian mining industry

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Fatality statistics in the Western Australian mining industry
Gullewa Cemetery, September 2021 05.jpg
Grave of John Duthie, killed in a mining accident at the Gullewa Gold Mine in 1904
Location
State Western Australia
Country Australia
Regulatory authority
Authority Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
Website http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/index.aspx

Fatality statistics in the Western Australian mining industry captures the number of people killed in the industry in the Australian state of Western Australia. During the period 2000-2012 (inclusive), a total of 52 fatalities occurred. [1] In 2006, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia commissioned a taxonomic study to analyse the 306 mining fatalities which occurred between 1970 and 2006. [2] The Department of Mines and Petroleum, later renamed the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, the governing authority for the industry in the state, has published statistics for fatalities in mining dating back to 1943 and intends to publish statistics dating back to 1886, though early records are not expected to be exhaustive. [3]

Contents

Categorisation

The department lists the fatality statistics categorised by commodity, date, fiscal year, occupation, causes, report status and type of mining (underground or surface). [3] Records up until 1967 are not categorised by commodity and instead appear as "not categorised" in the listing. Categorisation began in 1967 and almost all fatalities are categorised after 1968. [3]

Omissions

The statistics do not include the 2000 Australia Beechcraft King Air crash, when a flight to the Gwalia Gold Mine, with seven Sons of Gwalia employees onboard failed to land, instead continuing on to Burketown, where it eventually crashed, having run out of fuel. The pilot and the plane's seven passengers were all killed. [4]

Recent fatalities

The most recent fatalities in the Western Australian mining industry are:

Multiple fatalities

Multiple fatalities in the Western Australian mining industry are very rare nowadays and none have occurred since June 2000. Here a list of all multiple fatalities in the industry since 1939: [54]

Fatalities statistics

These are the statistics of fatalities by year, type of mining and commodity, subdivided into decades: [83]

2021 to 2030

Fatalities in the current decade, as of June 2023:

Year GD IO NI BM CL DI DS SM UM All
202112123
20222112
2023222
2021203034437

2011 to 2020

Fatalities in the decade 2011 - 2020:

Year GD IO NI BM CL OT SM UM All
2011333
20120
20131233
2014111
201532235
2016111
20171122
201811133
20191122
202012123
20112020610121317623

2001 to 2010

Fatalities in the decade 2001 - 2010:

Year GD IO NI BM B A DI DS SM UM All
200113266
200211112
20032111415
200423325
2005211224
200612123
2007211224
20081344
2009231516
2010111123
20012010141491112291342

1943 to present

Fatalities by decade:

Year GD IO NI BM B A CY CL CM DI DS MS SA T T OTNC All
19431950107107
19511960142142
1961197012126111135592
197119801544314165341114
19811990448194111244189
199120004281012211111171
2001201014149111242
20112020610121323
20212030325
1943202013698765121683384414307685

Key

Museum of the Goldfields

The Kalgoorlie branch of the Western Australian Museum, known as the Museum of the Goldfields, hosts a series of panels that name every mining fatality in the Kalgoorlie area since establishment of the mines. [84]

Related Research Articles

The Pilbara is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a global biodiversity hotspot for subterranean fauna.

A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground coal mining, although accidents also occur in hard rock mining. Coal mining is considered much more hazardous than hard rock mining due to flat-lying rock strata, generally incompetent rock, the presence of methane gas, and coal dust. Most of the deaths these days occur in developing countries, and rural parts of developed countries where safety measures are not practiced as fully. A mining disaster is an incident where there are five or more fatalities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining in Western Australia</span>

Mining in Western Australia, together with the petroleum industry in the state, accounted for 94% of the State's and 46% of Australia's income from total merchandise exports in 2019–20. The state of Western Australia hosted 123 predominantly higher value and export-oriented mining projects and hundreds of smaller quarries and mines. The principal projects produced more than 99 per cent of the industry's total sales value.

The Central Norseman gold mine is located at Norseman, Western Australia. Norseman lies at the southern end of the Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt, in the Eastern Goldfields Province of the Yilgarn Block, Western Australia.

The Kanowna Belle Gold Mine is a gold mine 19 kilometres (12 mi) north-east of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, near the ghost town of Kanowna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold mining in Western Australia</span>

Gold mining in Western Australia is the third largest commodity sector in Western Australia (WA), behind iron ore and LNG, with a value of A$17 billion in 2021–22. The 6.9 million troy ounces sold during this time period was the highest amount in 20 years and accounted for almost 70 percent of all gold sold in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brockman 2 mine</span> Iron ore mine in Western Australia

The Brockman 2 mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres north-west of Tom Price. It should not be confused with Rio Tinto's Brockman 4 mine, also in the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloudbreak mine</span> Iron ore mine in Western Australia

The Cloudbreak mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 89 kilometres west-south-west of Nullagine, in the Chichester Range.

The Nammuldi mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres north-west of Tom Price.

The Mesa J mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 16 kilometres south-west of Pannawonica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Angelas mine</span> Iron ore mine in Western Australia

The West Angelas mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 110 kilometres North West of Newman.

The Yandicoogina mine, often shortened to Yandi, is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 95 kilometres north-west of Newman. it should not be confused with BHP Billiton's Yandi mine, which is located nearby.

The Christmas Creek mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 61 kilometres south-south-west of Nullagine, in the Chichester Range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron ore mining in Western Australia</span> Mining in Western Australia

Iron ore mining in Western Australia, in the 2018–19 financial year, accounted for 54 percent of the total value of the state's resource production, with a value of A$78.2 billion. The overall value of the minerals and petroleum industry in Western Australia was A$145 billion in 2018–19, a 26 percent increase on the previous financial year.

The Area C mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 92 kilometres west-north-west of Newman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yandi mine</span> Iron ore mine in Western Australia

The Yandi mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 90 kilometres north-west of Newman. It should not be confused with Rio Tinto's nearby Yandicoogina mine, which is also sometimes shortened to Yandi.

Lake Way is a dry saline lake located in the Mid West region of Western Australia, approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Wiluna. It also gives its name to a nearby cattle station, the Lake Way Station.

Automated mining involves the removal of human labor from the mining process. The mining industry is in the transition towards automation. It can still require a large amount of human capital, particularly in the developing world where labor costs are low so there is less incentive for increasing efficiency. There are two types of automated mining- process and software automation, and the application of robotic technology to mining vehicles and equipment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nickel mining in Western Australia</span> Mining activity in Western Australia

Nickel mining in Western Australia has been an industry that has had many fluctuations of fortune in its history. Large fluctuations in the world nickel price have seen mines close and reopen on several occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper mining in Western Australia</span> Mining activity in Western Australia

Copper mining in Western Australia is relatively minor on a world scale, accounting for less than one percent of the world's production in 2021–22.

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