A man seriously injured in an Appin mine accident in 2019 said he felt "vindicated" by government plans to prosecute South32.
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The mining company owns Appin mine through Endeavour Coal and was the place where Jeff Rapley lost several toes after his foot was caught in a machine known as a scraper conveyor.
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The fact he was wearing gumboots at the time meant he was able to wrench his foot free, otherwise he would have been dragged further into the machine and likely killed.
The incident was investigated by the NSW Resources Regulator, which found a range of problems.
There was insufficient lighting in the area, a safety barrier had not been reinstalled and a lanyard that allowed the machine to be stopped in an emergency was missing.
Also the scraper conveyor had not gone through the appropriate safety steps before being brought into the mine.
South32 supplied an undertaking to introduce a training program and donate money to a paediatric hospital.
But the Resources Regulator rejected the undertaking, claiming it did not reflect the seriousness of the offence and that prosecution was the most appropriate option.
Mr Rapley admitted to being surprised by the regulator's decision to take the matter to court.
"There was one part of me that thought it was going to be a bit of a fait accompli," he said. "I thought the Resources Regulator would accept it [the South32 undertaking]."
He said he was "vindicated" by the regulator's finding after South32 suggested the accident happened because Mr Rapley failed to notice the hazard.
"The Resources Regulator blew that out of the water. I'd said you can't identify a hazard if it's not visible and the regulator agreed with that. The hazard was completely invisible and was concealed by the tech mesh."
The Resources Regulator's prosecution goes to court next month, where South32 will need to enter a plea.
A South32 spokesman said the company "deeply regretted" the incident
"Our thoughts continue to be with Mr Rapley," the spokesman said.
"We are committed to providing a safe workplace and after this incident occurred we reviewed the circumstances and implemented a number of safety improvements.
"We will continue to work with the NSW Resources Regulator in relation to the incident involving Mr Rapley."
Mr Rapley said he had been declared medically incapable of working and is still seeing a psychologist and undergoing rehab.
He said, without two toes, it has pushed the right side of his body out of alignment and created problems walking.
"I can walk but it's constantly painful," he said.
"I'm always in pain, particularly in the morning and at the end of the day. It depends on how much walking I do - it's a balancing act. If I'm sedentary it's really painful so I have to keep moving to alleviate those symptoms but if I walk too much it becomes really inflamed."
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