Fortescue halts operations at Pilbara site after employee’s death

September 30, 2021

(Reuters) – Fortescue Metals Group Ltd said on Thursday an employee had died after a ground collapse at its Solomon Hub site in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, forcing it to temporarily suspend mining operations at the project.

The world’s no.4 iron ore miner announced the suspension earlier in the day, citing a “significant incident” at the site.

In a brief update, Fortescue confirmed a fatality and said it was working with all relevant authorities on the matter.

It had earlier said operations at Solomon Hub had been suspended pending a full investigation and that it was working with the Western Australia police and the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.

The state’s mining department told Reuters it was aware of a significant incident at the mine site, but did not divulge any more details.

The mining department will send safety inspectors from Perth to the scene, expected to arrive in the evening, it added.

The Solomon Hub, a remote mining site in Pilbara, comprises of Firetail, Kings Valley and Queens Valley mines, which together have a production capacity of 75 million tonnes of iron ore a year.

(Reporting by Sameer Manekar and Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru and Sonali Paul in Melbourne; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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