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Australian Workers’ Union Victoria state secretary Ronnie Hayden said initial reports indicated two workers had been air legging – which is a type of manual mining – under unsupported ground and there had been a collapse.
Hayden said the union would meet with WorkSafe on Thursday morning. He will provide an update to the public from Ballarat at 10am.
Mine owners Victory Minerals released a statement on Thursday saying the body of the trapped worker had been brought to the surface at about 6am.
“It was with great sadness that we confirm one of our own has passed away,” Victory Minerals said.
“Our deepest sympathies and thoughts are with his family and all our people right now. Our absolute priority is supporting the wellbeing of our team members and their families and loved ones, as we all come to terms with this tragic news.
“One of our other team members who was transported to hospital last night is getting the best care possible. Our thoughts are with him and family and loved ones at this time.”
About 30 people were involved in the rescue including members of Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, the CFA, a mine rescue team and other partner agencies.
Victory Minerals took operational control of the Ballarat Goldmine in December 2023.
The mine’s website states it has an extensive network of tunnels and operates deep beneath buildings, streets and homes.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan issued a statement about 7pm on Wednesday.
“I’m thinking of every worker and every family who is impacted by this event. Tonight will be a long night for them and for the entire Ballarat community,” she said.
Ballarat’s goldfields attracted migrants from across the world in the 1850s and gold has continued to be mined in recent years.
Miners are brought to the surface at a Ballarat gold mine after a tunnel collapse in 2007.Credit: Craig Abraham
Victory Minerals employs about 200 people and aims to produce about 40,000 to 50,000 ounces of gold a year.
However, The Australian Financial Review has reported a subsidiary of London hedge fund Acheron Capital agreed to buy the mine three months ago from the liquidators of collapsed companies Balmaine Gold, which traded as Victory Minerals, and Golden Point Group.
The ABC and the Financial Review have reported an estimated 600 tonnes of rock collapsed into one of the mine’s underground tunnels in March 2021.
In November 2007, rescuers successfully brought 27 miners back to the surface at the Mount Clear gold mine after they were trapped hundreds of metres underground by a cave-in.
The miners were dramatically lifted from a ventilation shaft just after 8am on November 19, almost five hours after the cave-in trapped them up underground.
The 2007 cave-in happened at 3.30am. At the time, one of the miners made mobile phone contact with people on the surface after the collapse.
One year earlier, Tasmanian miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb were trapped almost a kilometre underground for two weeks by a rock fall on Anzac Day at the Beaconsfield gold mine in Tasmania. Their colleague Larry Knight died in the collapse.
Bushland near the Mount Clear mine was the focus of a major search operation for missing Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy in the past month. Last week, police charged 22-year-old Patrick Stephenson with murder, alleging he attacked her at Mount Clear.
With Rachel Eddie
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