Contract worker dies at Regis Resources’ Duketon South gold mine as operations are stood down

A contract worker has died at Regis Resources’ Duketon South gold mine in Western Australia’s northern Goldfields, and the company has stood down operations at the site while authorities investigate.

Emergency services were called to the Bandya mining camp, near the Duketon South operation, at about 12.30pm AWST on Friday 6 November. Medical staff at the mine site gave the man first aid before paramedics arrived, but he could not be revived.

As of Saturday afternoon, the cause of the incident had not been made public, and the man had not been named.

Who was the worker?

Regis Resources confirmed the man was a member of its contract workforce and was carrying out work at Duketon South at the time of the incident. The company has not released his name, his employer or the kind of work he was doing.

Regis said it was supporting everyone affected by the death and had activated its employee assistance programs for workers. The company’s statement was authorised by its managing director, Jim Beyer.

Where did it happen?

Duketon South is about 130 kilometres north of Laverton and more than 700 kilometres north-east of Perth, in the central Goldfields region. It has open pit and underground mines and has been producing gold since 2012.

It is Regis’s largest mining operation. The Perth-based company describes itself as one of Australia’s largest gold producers and is valued at about $5 billion on the ASX.

Workers at remote Goldfields operations such as Duketon typically live in on-site camps while rostered on. Emergency services were called to the camp at Bandya, which serves the operation.

What is happening at the mine now?

Regis said operations at Duketon have been stood down while investigations continue. It has not said how long the shutdown will last or when work will resume.

The company said it was giving investigators its full assistance.

Who is investigating?

WorkSafe, the state’s workplace safety regulator, is investigating the death. It said its investigators and inspectors were arranging to attend the site as soon as practicable.

WorkSafe Commissioner Sally North extended her condolences to the man’s family, friends and colleagues.

WA Police are also investigating and will prepare a report for the Coroner, which is standard practice for sudden workplace deaths in Western Australia. The Coroner can decide whether to hold an inquest once that report and WorkSafe’s findings are available.

What does the law require after a mine death?

Under Western Australia’s work health and safety laws, which have covered mines since 2022, a death at a mine must be reported to the regulator straight away, and the area where it happened must be left undisturbed until an inspector arrives or allows work to resume.

WorkSafe’s investigation will look at what happened and whether safety duties owed by the companies involved were met. Investigations of this kind commonly take months, and any decision on prosecution comes later.

What happens to the business?

Regis has not said whether the shutdown will affect its gold production for the December quarter, or whether it will make a further statement to the ASX. With Duketon South its largest operation, the length of the stand-down will matter both to the workforce on site and to the company’s shareholders.

For now, the company’s stated focus is on supporting the people affected and helping investigators.

VNN will update this story as more is confirmed.