The company will make its first court appearance on March 19
Diavik diamond mine, a mine owned and managed by Mining Corporation Rio Tinto, has been pressed with four charges by the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC), as reported in an article by Cabin Radio.
The charges followed the WSCC’s investigation regarding the incident last month where a plane crash killed four mine employees and two pilots, with only one passenger surviving.
According to the commission, the charges were filed in the Northwest Territories’ territorial court under the Mine Health and Safety Act. The charges included “failure to implement and maintain safe work practices, and failure to take every reasonable measure to protect the health and safety of their employees, as well as other offences.”
Last month, a charter flight, which was operated by Northwestern Air Lease, with six people onboard was on its way to Diavik before crashing near Fort Smith, Northwest Territories just after taking off.
In a statement released by Rio Tinto, Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm had expressed his sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims of the accident.
“We will be working closely with authorities over the coming days, weeks and months, to support their efforts to understand the full facts of what has happened,” said Stausholm.
The WSCC stated that it will not be providing further information regarding the case because the matter will now be dealt with by the courts.
The first court appearance for Diavik in Yellowknife is set on March 19.
The diamond mine is located 200 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, at the bottom of Lac de Gras in the Northwest Territories in Canada.
