Pike River Coal Limited has been found guilty on nine safety charges relating to the explosion in November 2010, which claimed the lives of 29 men.
Judge Jane Farish has released her reserved judgment, finding the company failed to ensure the safety of those inside the mine.
Justice Farish used affidavits and oral evidence from Department of Labour investigator Jane Birdsall and Australian mine safety expert David Reece in making her decision.
This evidence pointed to the fact machinery operating in the mine's restricted zone – where machinery must be flameproof or "intrinsically safe" – may not have had the necessary safety precautions, and the mine was not adequately ventilated.
"There were various plans - For example, ventilation management plan, some of this plan had not been implemented; some of it had been started but was incomplete," Justice Farish notes.
"There was no overall auditing of the crucial safety aspects in relation to the mine."
Thirty-one people were inside the mine when the explosion occurred on Friday, November 19. Two would eventually escape but the 29 others remain entombed inside the mine, which has never been re-opened to allow a scene examination.
Justice Farish will release her full judgment in 14 days, but is satisfied the company is guilty of the nine charges brought against it.
"In this case there were fundamental breaches of the Health and Safety in Employment Act which lead to the unnecessary deaths of 29 men.”
Four of the charges relate to PRCL failing to take steps to ensure the safety of employees at work. Each relates to a specific area: methane explosion management, ventilation management, panel geology and mitigating the risk of impact explosion.
Four other charges laid under the Health and Safety Act relate to the same four areas, saying the company failed to take all practicable steps to ensure no workers were harmed while doing work.
The ninth and final charge relates to Pike River failing to take all practicable steps to ensure no harm came to Joseph Ray Dunbar, who was due to start working as a contractor on November 22.
PRCL receivers PricewaterhouseCoopers say they will assist the court in its prosecution, provide information on the company's financial situation and assist in sentencing, but will not involve themselves in any legal battle.
"The receivers do not intend to take any position in relation to what may be an appropriate sentence. This is a matter for the court," PWC receiver John Fisk said in a statement.
"Given the amounts owing to creditors, the Receivers did not consider it in the economic interest of creditors to spend the limited funds available to the company on any defences to the charges."
Sentencing is set down for two days on July 4 and 5 in Greymouth.
3 News
source: newshub archive
