Media Statement

Issue Date:  -  Tuesday, 13 June 2006

Mining giant fined $200,000 plus costs

BHP Billiton has been fined $200,000 plus more than $58,000 in costs after pleading guilty in the Perth Court of Petty Sessions today (Tuesday June 13) to three charges of failing to provide and maintain a working environment in which employees were not exposed to hazards.
 
The court case revolved around the May 2004 explosion at the Port Hedland Boodarie Hot Briquette Iron (HBI) plant where one man died, and others received severe burns.
 
The charges followed Resources Safety’s assessment of the report ordered into the Boodarie HBI operations by the State Mining Engineer, Martin Knee under section 45 of the Mines Safety Inspection Act 1994, and the department’s own investigation of the incident.
 
“Any company, no matter how big, is required to comply with occupational safety law,” Mr Knee said.
 
He said the fines were a warning to mining employers that they must observe their obligations to provide a safe working environment.
 
The company was fined $100,000 for the charge that resulted from the death of one employee, and $50,000 each for the charges of causing severe injury to two other employees.
 
The prosecution case was that BHP Billiton undertook two activities, with the potential to cause an explosion, together without a proper risk assessment. This was considered to be a serious and substantial breach of the obligation to provide and maintain a safe working environment.
 
The Boodarie plant has been shut down, and will be disassembled while the site undergoes rehabilitation.
 
The maximum penalty under the act for employers at the time of the incident was $200,000. If the company had been charged under current laws it would have faced fines of up to $500,000 on each charge.
 
Media contact:  Peter Lewis Resources Safety ph 9222 3650