Canada’s Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) has filed four charges in Northwest Territories court against Diavik Diamond Mine for alleged safety violations.
Diavik, the country’s largest diamond producer, has been charged with multiple violations of the Mine Health and Safety Act, including failure to implement and maintain safe work practices and failure to take every reasonable measure to protect the health and safety of employees.
The charges were filed following an investigation by WSCC safety officers related to an incident at Diavik last January that resulted in a serious worker injury. WSCC said it was not “able to provide further information or comment at this time.”
The news comes shortly after six people—four employees of Diavik and two flight crew members—were killed when their plane crashed en route to the mine (another passenger survived). Canada’s Transportation Safety Board is reportedly investigating the accident.
Rio Tinto Diamonds has had full control of Diavik since 2021. The company did not respond to JCK‘s request for comment, but told Reuters that it “took the health and safety of its employees very seriously.”
(Photo courtesy of Diavik)
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