Potash Corp., supervisor charged in death of worker at Saskatchewan mine

REGINA - Mining giant Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan and a company supervisor are facing charges in the death of a worker.


The provincial Ministry of Justice has laid five charges against the company and one against the supervisor under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.


The charges follow an investigation into the September 2008 death of Robert Tkach, 60, who died when his vehicle crashed at a potash mine in Lanigan, Sask.


"The worker was underground and he was driving a vehicle that drove over an unguarded ledge and rolled the vehicle," said Jennifer Fabian, director of safety services with Occupational Health and Safety.


"There was no barrier there," she said.


In every case where someone gets hurt "it always comes down to an issue of ensuring that hazards are properly identified," Fabian said.


She wouldn't talk about specific details of the investigation, saying the case is before the courts.


The charges against Potash Corp. (TSX:POT) include failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all workers.


The supervisor is accused of failing "to take reasonable care to protect the health and safety of a worker who may be affected by his acts or omissions."


Potash Corp. was issued a notice of contravention after the crash. Fabian said that notice directed the company to make safety improvements at the mine. The charges laid Thursday come after the ministry reviewed the findings from the complete investigation.


Potash Corp. spokesman Bill Johnson would not comment on the charges, but added safety is "the number one priority at every one of our facilities, period."


"After this incident we co-operated fully with the mines branch and their investigation of the accident. We reviewed their recommendations and complied fully with them."


Potash Corp. and the supervisor could face fines of up to $300,000. Individuals convicted of violating the act also face up to two years behind bars if convicted, although Fabian says no one in Saskatchewan has ever been jailed in such cases.


The only time the maximum fine has been handed out was in 1998, she added.


Potash Corp. was fined $300,000 after pleading guilty to charges stemming from the deaths of two workers in 1996. The two men employed by a subcontractor at the company's Cory mine died after falling into a vat of boiling brine. Another man was seriously burned.

: PENTAGON CHEMICAL