Police from the small Pilbara mining town of Tom Price are continuing their investigation into the death of 54-year-old Rio Tinto mine employee, whose body was discovered four days after he died.
The truck driver from Albany is believed to have died from natural causes inside his mine camp donga at Rio Tinto’s Mount Tom Price iron ore mine in Western Australia’s remote north west.
The delay in finding the man’s body has angered unions who have labelled the incident as a breach of duty of care.
The CFMEU are calling for an investigation into why management did not try to locate the employee after he failed to report for his first shift.
It is believed the truck driver was last seen by co-workers on Friday 22 February, however his death was not discovered until management checked his room on the following Tuesday after he missed his scheduled flight home.
Alicia Ranford, spokesperson for Mining Family Matters, said she was concerned about procedures at the mine.
“I don’t know what the protocol is on this particular site, but as a mining wife I’d like to think that companies do everything possible to ensure there’s a strong sense of community in mining camps so that people look out for one another.”
“You’d also hope all employees are contacted if they don’t turn up to work, to ensure everything’s ok.”
“This is such a tragedy and my heart goes out to this man’s family, friends and co-workers.”
Rio Tinto is remaining tight-lipped on the incident, releasing the following brief statement,
“A 54-year-old man from the Great Southern region died in his room at the Brockman 4 camp. The time of death is also yet to be determined. We are assisting the appropriate authorities with their inquiries.”
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