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Fears for mine after rock fall

AAP

AAP

Fears are growing that a Tasmanian copper mine where three workers were killed within weeks will not reopen.

The three died at the Mt Lyell mine at Queenstown in December and January in two separate accidents.

Operations have been halted since the second incident and a rock fall has delayed a reopening scheduled for later this month.

The latest incident, in the mine’s ventilation system, caused no safety risk but could take three months to fix.

“We will also need to reassess the economic viability of the mine, as this latest incident will incur significant additional costs which will negatively impact on what was already a marginal economic position,” Copper Mines of Tasmania (CMT) manager Scot Clyde said in a statement.

Last month CMT announced up to 80 jobs would be shed at Mt Lyell, while around 200 staff had been on half pay since the closure.

The Australian Workers Union says it has concerns about the future of the mine, the country’s longest operating on the same site.

“Potentially this is a very significant blow to all stakeholders that rely on the Mount Lyell operation,” the AWU’s Robert Flanagan told the ABC.

Two maintenance workers fell from a platform to their deaths in a shaft in December, before a mud slide killed a third man six weeks later.

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