Rio Tinto announced the death of a contractor following an incident at the Bingham Canyon mine, part of the Kennecott complex outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 12.
“We are devastated by the loss of our colleague, and our heartfelt sympathies are with their family, friends, teammates, and everyone in the Kennecott community. We are working closely with the relevant authorities and contractor partners to support a complete and thorough investigation,” Rio Tinto Chief Executive Simon Trott said.
“The safety of our people comes before everything else. We are fully focused on understanding what led to this tragedy. I will be travelling to Kennecott to support our team on site.”
According to local media, the victim had been working on heavy equipment inside a maintenance shop when a large boom attached to the machinery suddenly gave way and struck him.
Rio Tinto said all surface and underground mining operations at Kennecott have been suspended and support, including counseling, is being provided to team members.