Mine inquest told 925 level 'not safe'
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An inquest has heard the Beaconsfield Gold mine was warned by its geotechnical officer that the area of a fatal rockfall was not safe for mining, six months before the accident.
The inquest into the death of Larry Knight was shown a memo from geotechnical and geological engineer, Adrian Penney, to another mine manager, expressing concerns about safety on two levels after rockfalls in October 2005.
It said "the 915 and 925 failure zones would not be safe to rehabilitate sufficiently" to allow further mining.
Several months later, miners did return to the 925 level, but it is not clear if they went to the areas Mr Penney was concerned about.
The fatal accident happened on the 925 level in April 2006.
Mr Penney said he thought all measures taken after the 2005 rockfalls were "adequate".
