WorkSafe appeal successful against shell miner L’Haridon Bight Mining’s fine for worker injury in Denham

An appeal launched by WorkSafe against the fine handed to a company over one of its workers getting his arm caught in a conveyor system has been successful, with the courts more than doubling the penalty. Shell mining company L’Haridon Bight Mining was initially fined $20,000 in Perth Magistrates Court in March 2021 after its employee suffered fractures, lacerations and burns when his arm was caught in the tail-end pulley of a conveyor system at its Shell Beach mine about 45km from Denham in May 2017. Last week, the Supreme Court agreed with WorkSafe’s appeal and upped the fine to $48,000 plus ordered $6886 costs to be paid. WorkSafe argued the $20,000 penalty was manifestly inadequate given it was only 5 per cent of the maximum — $400,000 — available at the time for causing serious harm. WorkSafe commissioner Darren Kavanagh said the court’s decision sent a clear message to all mine operators — that worker safety must be their number one priority. “Financial penalties act as a deterrence,” he said. “All employers must have safe systems of work in place to protect workers from hazardous conditions.” On the day of the incident, the worker was helping with repairs to a shell-bagging machine. It was revealed the employee had not been provided with any training on the safe isolation of machinery. The equipment’s guarding had been removed to complete the work and after the repairs were done, the worker turned the machine on before reinstating the guard. The machine was not electrically isolated and a short time later the worker slipped and caught his arm in one of the conveyor’s nip points. The machine was not fitted with a lockout switch or an emergency stop device. WorkSafe chief inspector of mines Christina Folley said this incident could have been easily avoided. “Workers must be trained and equipped to isolate machinery,” she said. “Isolation procedures should be practised so they become second nature during maintenance and repairs to better protect employees from known hazards. “This incident serves as a reminder that mine operators must conduct regular audits of conveyor systems to identify hazards and implement appropriate control measures.”