A mining company in the Highlands has been fined more than £150,000 after an experienced electrician was killed when he was struck by the blades of a mine fan.
Colin Thwaites died on October 21, 2024 while working at Lochaline Quartz Sand Limited’s underground mine on the Morvern Peninsula. The 61-year-old was struck by the blades of a fan which was not sufficiently well-guarded, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said.
Mr Thwaites arrived for his day shift to help restore power following damage caused by Storm Ashleigh. He was working alongside an apprentice to disconnect a communications cable near one of the mine’s BORA fans when the incident occurred. His colleague found him trapped in the fan, having suffered fatal injuries.
Serious Failings in Fan Maintenance
An HSE investigation found a series of “serious failings” in how the fan had been modified, commissioned and maintained. When inspectors examined the fan the day after the incident, the intake guard was found to be in a seriously degraded condition. Significant areas of mesh were missing and wire and mesh pieces recovered from the floor showed heavy corrosion on their broken ends, indicating they had been in that condition for some time — not freshly broken during the incident. Had the guard been properly designed and maintained, HSE said it is likely it would have prevented the fatal incident.
HSE Chief Inspector's Statement
“This was a tragic and entirely preventable death,” Kevin Wilson, HSE’s chief inspector of mines and quarries, said. “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 continued: “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.”
Company Fined at Inverness Sheriff Court
Lochaline Quartz Sand Limited, of European Technical Centre, Hall Lane, Lathom, in Ormskirk, Lancashire, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) and section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £150,000 and told to pay a victim surcharge of £11,250 at Inverness Sheriff Court on June 16 this year.
