BHP Billiton Ltd
(ASX:BHP) says it has suspended operations at its Perseverance nickel mine in Western Australia following the tragic death of a worker at the site on Sunday.
Bloomberg reports that a miner became trapped underground while driving a mine vehicle about 9.30am yesterday and rescue crews are believed to have freed the body this morning.
The accident is the third major incident at the mine over the past 10 months after two rock falls last year forced BHP to shut operations for several weeks.
In a statement on its website, BHP has said that details of the accident were still being obtained and investigations into the fatality were underway.
Perseverance is part of BHP’s Nickel West Leinster complex, which produced about 36,000 tonnes of nickel in the December quarter.
BHP Billiton reported a profit of $7.243 billion for the 2009 financial year.
