A long-time employee of PotashCorp’s New Brunswick potash mine died Saturday, Nov. 21, as a result of an underground accident. The employee, identified as Vincent Mitton, 55, was injured while installing pipe around 3:00 p.m. He was given first aid and transferred to a local hospital, where he passed away.
PotashCorp said its thoughts and prayers are with the family.
The accident remains under investigation by the company and WorkSafe New Brunswick. PotashCorp reiterated that there was no mine collapse or structural difficulty with the mine. The mine is in the midst of an eight-week inventory-based shutdown (Oct. 11-Dec. 5), and employees have been doing maintenance during this period.
PotashCorp said the last fatality at the mine was in 1986, when the mine was owned by another company. PotashCorp said safety had not been a problem, and that in May the mine marked one million working hours without a lost-time incident.