The B.C. Coroners Service and WorkSafeBC are investigating the death of a Smithers man in his 50s at the Brucejack Mine.
The work-related death occurred at a support camp operated by one of the mine’s contractors, approximately 25 km away from the mine.
Due to the privacy of the deceased, per the Coroners Act and privacy legislation, his identity is not being released.
WorkSafeBC was notified about the incident on Feb. 25, 2018 at 5:05 p.m. The cause of death is still under investigation.
The Brucejack Mine is a 2,700 tonnes-per-day high-grade gold underground mine located approximately 65 km north of Stewart.
The employer of the deceased is contracting company Tsetsaut Ventures Ltd., which was created by the Skii km Lax Ha First Nation - a small band near Hazelton.
“Tsetsaut Ventures has been a longtime contractor to the Brucejack Project and we offer our sincerest condolences to them and to the employee’s family, friends and colleagues,” said Troy Shultz, Pretivm’s manager of investor relations and corporate communications.
Pretivm Resources, which owns the mine, marked a milestone last June when the first doré bar of gold was poured at the site. The pouring of the first bar was months ahead of schedule as Pretivm had originally projected a September date to reach production.
READ MORE: Northwest B.C. mine pours first gold
Fully half of the approximately 413 direct employees at the Brucejack Mine are from the region, and 92 per cent of all its employees are from the province.
According to Trish Knight Chernecki, a WorkSafeBC spokesperson, WorkSafeBC does everything it can to protect the identity of workers and their family immediately after a tragedy occurs.
“WorkSafeBC is required to provide worker serious injuries and work-related deaths information based on the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,” she added. “On the completion of the investigation, the incident investigation report will be available from our Freedom of Information office.”
- With files from Rod Link