Mopani Mines ordered to pay K59 m for miner’s death

The Daily Mail reports that the Lusaka High Court has ordered Mopani Copper Mines to pay K59 million with interest as damages in the case of a whistleman who was found dead underground at Nkana Mine in 2002.

Supreme Court Judge Timothy Kabalata, who sat as High Court Judge, awarded Ms Florence Mulenga damages and costs after he found that the deceased died as a result of negligence by the mining company.

Ms Mulenga sued Mopani Copper Mines as administrator of the estate of the late Emmanuel Chanda who was found dead.

According to evidence in court, Mr Chanda, who was 34, was found lying unconscious inside a Granby car while he was working on a train at 2,370 feet level and was pronounced dead on arrival at Wusakile Mine Hospital.

The mine authorities, on their part, denied liability and alleged that the deceased’s cause of death was unknown and could only be speculated.

An inspector of mines who investigated the accident failed to make a conclusion on the cause of death, saying he could not find any reason.

Chief inspector of mines at the mines safety department, Mr Lumamba, said the report was inconclusive and assigned another inspector, Mr Coin Siakacoma, whose report was questioned by the mine.

An inquest by the Kitwe Magistrates Court was conducted and its findings were that the measurements of the trolley line fell far below the requirements of the law and this resulted into Mr Chanda coming into contact with the trolley line.

The report said this was negligence on the part of the employer who failed to live up to the standard of measurement required by the law and that the accident would not have occurred if the line had been constructed according to the requirements of the law.

A medical doctor at Kitwe Central Hospital, Saidmeraton Abdi, found that Mr Chanda died due to electric shock.

In defence, Mopani Copper Mines authorities said they were not liable because the cause of the accident was not known.

In arriving at his judgment, Justice Kabalata noted that the mine officials would have amended their defence after the report by Dr Abdi to give an explanation of how Mr Chanda came into contact with the live wire that led to his death.

He said it was clear from the evidence that it was the duty of mine authorities to provide other protective measures and failure to do this made them liable for the accident.

The said failure by mine authorities to comply with regulations 192 (1) and 192 (4) (b) and 1003 (1) and the failure to give an account of the accident made the mine liable for the death of Mr Chanda.