Safety at the Ballarat Gold Mine has been questioned, as the miner who died in a horror rockfall this week is named.
37-year-old father Kurt Hourigan was air legging 500 metres underground, when he was trapped in a ground collapse late Wednesday.
The body of the Bruthen man was recovered early yesterday morning.
AWU State Secretary, Ronnie Hayden, said the rock drilling mining practice of air legging is not safe and one which the mine operator only just re-introduced.
Mr. Hayden says WorkSafe needs to investigate this and bring charges against the individuals responsible.
He has endorsed the use of Victoria’s industrial manslaughter laws in this case, saying we need to give miners and their families time to grieve, but we also need to see timely justice.
The incident is now being investigated by WorkSafe Victoria.
In a statement, mine owner Victory Minerals said the safety of their people on site is their first priority and are cooperating fully with the investigation.
