A mining company has been fined $65,000 over the death of a worker in Western Australia.

A 66-year-old electrician was fatally crushed between a lift car and the lift shaft at the Worsley Refinery in 2014.

He had been working at the bauxite refinery for 24 years.

Reports allege that he was inspecting door locks when the incident happened, after the outer doors of the lift at ground level stopped closing properly.

WA’s Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) found a lack of clear written safety procedures, which it says could have prevented Mr. Whitton’s exposure to the hazards.

Mines Safety Director Andrew Chaplyn said it simply should not have happened.

“Bypassing the safety circuit, effectively rendered what was theoretically a safe system unsafe,” Mr. Chaplyn said.

“There was no safe work instruction for the complex task of how to fault find this lift. Working on live equipment is inherently dangerous. 

“All mine operators, supervisors, and workers need to ensure that fault finding for complex automated plant is undertaken under close supervision, without exposure to any danger whatsoever.

“Allowing a person to attempt to resolve technical issues without enforcing its policy for providing an integrated system for isolating and controlling hazards led to a dangerous situation.

“It is another reminder of why safety should always be the number one priority in the mining industry. This means ensuring safety processes and procedures are not only in place, but are understood and followed.”