More than four years after the fatal accident, the coroner for Ontario, Canada, has ordered a mandatory inquest into the drowning death of a 48-year-old driller at a mine site in Matheson, Ontario, Canada.
What happened?
On February 9, 2022, a highly experienced driller (more than 30 years of work experience), employed by drilling company Major Drilling, drowned at Kirkland Lake Gold’s Taylor Mine near Matheson, Ontario, Canada. The mine was on care and maintenance at the time and was not in production. The victim was operating a tracked vehicle that broke through the ice and fell into a flooded sump area. The opening in the ice measured approximately 2.5 meters square. A beaver dam had caused the sump to overflow, obscuring the protective fence that would normally warn of the hazard.
Findings
Following the accident, Kirkland Lake Gold (later merged with Agnico Eagle Mines) pleaded guilty to failing to ensure a proper fence or barrier around the sump area. The company was fined 390,000 Canadian dollars, plus a mandatory victim surcharge. That legal proceeding concluded several years ago. What is new is that the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario has now, more than four years after the accident, ordered an inquest. Under Ontario’s Coroners Act, such an inquest is mandatory for any fatal accident occurring at a mine, pit, or quarry. The inquest will be presided over by Dr. Laura Piccinin, Regional Supervising Coroner for the Sudbury region. A hearing date has not yet been set. The inquest will examine the precise circumstances and conditions that led to the accident, separate from the earlier criminal proceedings.
Recommendations
Because the inquest has not yet taken place, no recommendations have been announced at this time. At an Ontario coroner’s inquest, it is standard practice for a jury to issue recommendations at the conclusion of the hearing aimed at preventing similar accidents in the mining sector. Once a date is set and the hearing has taken place, those recommendations may be published. EHS News will report on this as new developments occur.
Context
In Ontario, Canada, a coroner’s inquest is legally required for any fatal accident occurring at a mine, pit, or quarry, regardless of whether criminal proceedings have already taken place. This requirement is set out in the Coroners Act (RSO 1990, c C.37) and is intended to examine the precise circumstances of fatal mining accidents independently of any fines or settlements, and to draw lessons for the sector. Similar inquests have previously been held into other fatal mining accidents in Northern Ontario.
Source: Coroner’s inquest ordered into 2022 drowning death of driller at northern Ontario mine site, September 23, 2026
