Lancashire mining firm fined £150,000 after electrician killed by mine fan
A Lancashire mining company has been fined after an experienced electrician was fatally injured by a mine fan in the Highlands.
A Lancashire mining company has been fined more than £150,000 after an experienced electrician was killed by the blades of an underground mine fan in the Highlands.
Lochaline Quartz Sand Limited, based at the European Technical Centre in Hall Lane, Lathom, near Ormskirk, pleaded guilty following the death of 61-year-old Colin Thwaites at its mine on the Morvern Peninsula.
Mr Thwaites died on October 21, 2024, while helping to restore power after Storm Ashleigh.
He had arrived for his day shift and was working with an apprentice to disconnect a communications cable near one of the mine’s BORA fans when the incident happened.
Mr Thwaites was struck by the blades of the fan, which the Health and Safety Executive said was not sufficiently well guarded.
His colleague found him trapped in the fan after he suffered fatal injuries.
An HSE investigation found a series of serious failings in the way the fan had been modified, commissioned and maintained.
When inspectors examined the fan the following day, its intake guard was found to be in a seriously degraded condition.
Significant areas of mesh were missing, while pieces of wire and mesh recovered from the floor had heavily corroded broken ends, indicating they had been in that condition for some time rather than breaking during the incident.
The HSE said a properly designed and maintained guard would likely have prevented the fatal incident.
Kevin Wilson, HSE chief inspector of mines and quarries, said: “This was a tragic and entirely preventable death.
“Colin Thwaites was a highly-experienced mining professional with decades of service. He should have gone home to his family that day.
“Our investigation found that when the fan was modified, the risks were not identified.
“The guarding that was put in place was inadequate from the outset and its deteriorating condition went unnoticed because there was no proper maintenance regime in place.”
He added: “Mine operators have clear legal duties to ensure equipment is safely commissioned and maintained. Where those duties are not met, the consequences can be fatal.”
Lochaline Quartz Sand Limited pleaded guilty to breaching sections of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
The company was fined £150,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £11,250 at Inverness Sheriff Court on June 16.