Rio Tinto Facing Charges over Safety at Diavik

Rio Tinto has been hit with four charges of failing to create a safe workspace at its Diavik diamond mine in Canada.

The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission filed the charges in the Northwest Territories’ Territorial Court last month, the group said Friday. Diavik is charged with multiple counts alleging violations of the Mine Health and Safety Act, including 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 offenses.

The commission filed the charges following an investigation by safety officers into an incident that led to a “serious worker injury,” the complaint noted. The event took place last year.

The first court date is scheduled for March 19. The committee said it couldn’t provide further details, given the matter is now before the courts.

The charges follow another recent safety issue related to Diavik. Late last month, several remote employees at the mine were killed after a small plane carrying them to the site crashed. That incident will take at least six months to investigate fully, authorities said.

“Rio Tinto and the Diavik diamond mine take the health and safety of our people very seriously and remain committed to zero harm in our operation,” a Rio Tinto spokesperson told Rapaport News. “We are not able to comment further on the matter, as it is before the court.”