A 58-year-old miner worker at South32's Appin mine had several toes amputated after his right foot was caught in a conveyor in 2019, a report from the Resources Regulator found.
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Had he been wearing lace-up safety boots rather than gumboots at the time, he may not have been able to remove his foot and would have been dragged further into the machine.
The accident happened on the night shift on June 8, 2019, when the man - working for contractor Mastermyne - was hosing coal fines into the scraper conveyor so they could be removed from the mine.
The area next to the conveyor that was normally used as a walkway was covered in coal debris, so the worker walked along the steel-covered conveyor.
The miner stepped on a section that was covered by a fine "tech mesh" but had no steel guard underneath.
"The worker was unable to see that there was a void underneath the tech mesh; when he placed his foot on this section and commenced to place weight on the foot the tech mesh bent down," the report stated.
"Both the worker's foot and the section of tech mesh became entangled with the flight bars of the moving scraper conveyor."
Because he was wearing gumboots, the worker was able to remove his foot.
"If the worker had not been able to remove his foot from the entanglement, the moving conveyor would have dragged the worker further into the conveyor, which would have resulted in a potential life-threatening situation," the report stated.
In hospital, the miner had his big toe and several others amputated and the sole of his foot had to be stitched back in place, using 60 stitches.
The report found the lights in the area were not working, forcing the miner to use the lamplight on his helmet.
Also, a safety rail that would have prevented the miner from accessing the area had been removed when the conveyor was installed three months before the accident.
"The investigation found there was a failure to follow the mine's policy and procedures in relation to the site introduction process for the new scraper conveyor and a failure to identify and control the risks associated with installation of the tech mesh, cleaning activities with the conveyor operating while safety controls were not in place, and undertaking the cleaning activities while the lighting in the drift was out of commission," the report found.
On Friday, South32 released a statement about the incident.
"Our thoughts continue to be with the worker affected by this incident," a spokesman said.
"Nothing is more important to us than our people returning home safely at the end of each shift.
"We are continuing to work with the NSW Resources Regulator on this matter."
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Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
