Former Riverina quarry operator convicted, fined after blast threatens lives

Former Cootamundra Quarry operator Rockwoods Investment Group was convicted last week after it failed to comply with its work health and safety duty, exposing two individuals to a risk of death or serious injury.

At 2.23pm on April 8, 2021 a blast was fired from the quarry - located about five kilometres south of Cootamundra - while the two victims were within the exclusion zone.

Flyrock was ejected from the blast and landed near one of the pair, who was on a neighbouring property at the time.

The day before the blast, the acting drill and blast supervisor, Mr Holmes, informed a neighbouring farmer about when it would be taking place.

However, the company failed to notify anyone from three other neighbouring properties prior to the day of the blast.

On the morning of the blast he attended another neighbouring property, the Tegra concrete batching plant, where he notified the manager the explosion would take place at 1pm that day.

But about 11.30am that morning, Mr Armstrong became aware the blast had been delayed and would now take place closer to 2pm.

Despite this, the Tegra manager was not informed of the updated time and he left the property about noon to travel into town.

About 1.30pm the acting drill and blast supervisor called the quarry supervisor, Mr Johnson, and asked him to clear the site.

Mr Johnson drove a ute around the quarry to ensure no one was left in the blast exclusion zone and also drove along the western edge of the pit at the Tegra property, but did not look into it or enter it even though it was also in the exclusion zone.

Unwittingly driving into danger, the Tegra plant manager returned to the property between 1.30pm and 1.45pm, believing the blast had been completed as originally planned.

He drove past the quarry entrance to access the Tegra property but there was no blast notification sign displaying any time for the blast.

Meanwhile, after completing the inspection, Mr Johnson reported the coast was clear and three blast guards took up positions in anticipation of the blast.

However, none of the three guards checked the neighbouring Pioneer Park to ensure the exclusion zone was clear of individuals.

Between 2pm and 2.10pm, the Tegra manager drove a concrete truck into the pit and began filling it with water.

About this time, the acting shotfirer Mr Wilson made a radio broadcast to request confirmation all was clear, but two of the blast guards had poor radio reception and did not communicate.

Despite this, he commenced the blast initiation process.

At 2.23pm Mr Wilson fired the blast in the southern part of the quarry.

The Tegra manager and a neighbouring farmer were both within the exclusion zone with court documents noting this exposed them both to "a risk of death or serious injury as a result of being struck by flyrock ejected from the blast."

When the blast went off, the Tegra manager was only about 340 metres away and realised he was in danger when when he felt a blast wave.

He dove behind his concrete truck to shield himself from the flyrock, some of which flew past him, with pieces as big as a fist.

Fortunately for the farmer, also caught in the blast exclusion zone, he did not have any flyrock go past him.

After taking shelter, the Tegra manager went to the quarry office and informed Rockwoods of the incident - which was also not video-recorded as it should have been, court documents revealed.

A subsequent investigation by the NSW Resources Regulator found Rockwoods had seven "system failures" including a failure of radio communications, failure to record blast activities, failure to clear the exclusion zone and failure to adequately evacuate the site.

The regulator also found Rockwoods failed to communicate the time of the intended blast, failed to identify all risks before the blast and failed to use a generic risk assessment for blast operations.

After the incident, Rockwoods introduced a pre-blast checklist and implemented site-specific blast management plans. It also updated contact details for quarry neighbours and opted to use a drone to inspect Pioneer Park as part of efforts to clear people from the exclusion zone of future blasts.

However, this was not long needed, as Rockwoods sold its entire quarry and concrete business - which included 13 quarries and seven fixed concrete plants - less than six months after the incident.

Court documents revealed a 10-year restraint also now prevents Rockwoods from owning or operating any quarries again until September 30, 2031.

The court heard Mr Woods, the quarry operations manager at the time of the incident, was "profoundly sorry" for what happened and acknowledged it was the "defendant's failures which cause[d] the event".

He also apologised to the two victims for failing to advise them of the delay in blast times and for any hurt they have suffered as a result.

Presiding over the matter in the Sydney Downing Centre district court on Wednesday February 28, Judge David Russell found the risk of flyrock being ejected from a blast was "ever present" in the operations of a quarry and said this is why there must be an exclusion zone.

"The risk was foreseeable and foreseen by Rockwoods," Judge Russell said.

He found at the time of the blast, there were steps available to "eliminate or minimise the risk."

"All of [those steps]... were known to Rockwoods, but it failed to follow its own procedures in many respects," he said.

Judge Russell also recalled a poignant comment from the regulator about the incident.

"As counsel for the regulator put it, the fact that no one was harmed was a matter of good luck rather than good management," he said.

"Fortunately [the Tegra plant manager] was able to take evasive action, and thus no one was struck by flyrock."

Judge Russell found the culpability of Rockwoods was mid-range and stressed that deterrence for the incident was very important.

"Employers must take the obligations imposed by the [Work Health and Safety Act] very seriously," he said.

"The community is entitled to expect that both small and large employers will comply with safety requirements."

But the judge also noted Rockwoods did "not have a significant record of previous convictions" and was of "otherwise good character" over its past 22 years of operation.

Judge Russell found the appropriate fine for the former quarry operator is $200,000.

But due to the fact Rockwoods entered an early plea of guilty over the incident, this was reduced by 25 per cent to $150,000.

Rockwoods was also ordered to pay the prosecutor's costs totalling a further $84,500.