Category: Perenti Group

Following a significant search and rescue operation at the Dugald River Underground Mine and further to recent announcements, it is with great sadness that Perenti advises of the tragic loss of our colleagues Trevor Davis and Dylan Langridge, the two previously missing Barminco employees.

Managing Director & CEO of Perenti Mark Norwell said, “This is a devastating outcome and I want to extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to the families, friends, colleagues and loved ones of Trevor and Dylan, both of whom should have come home safely from work yesterday.”

Yesterday morning, at approximately 125 metres below the surface, an incident occurred resulting in three Barminco employees, one in a drill rig and two in a light vehicle, falling approximately 15 metres into a void within a previously backfilled stope. The drill rig operator was rescued and received medical treatment for minor injuries. Tragically, through the rescue effort it has been confirmed that the two other Barminco employees, Trevor Davis and Dylan Langridge were fatally injured.

Dylan Langridge was 33 years old and joined Barminco in March 2020 as a truck operator at Savannah before joining the service crew at Dugald River later that year. Dylan continued to progress his career at Dugald River and in October 2021 took up the role of charge up operator.

Trevor Davis was 36 years old and joined Barminco in August 2020 as a shotcrete operator at Rosemont, before transferring to Dugald River as a charge up operator in November 2021.

Both Dylan and Trevor were valued team members and well respected across both sites and the wider Barminco team.

Mark Norwell added, “Our immediate and ongoing focus is on providing support to the families, friends and colleagues of Trevor and Dylan.

“Barminco has been operating at MMG’s Dugald River mine since early 2012 with members of our workforce residing in the local area. This tragic incident is devastating and will have a lasting impact on not only the families and friends of Trevor and Dylan but also on the workforce of Dugald River, the Cloncurry and Mount Isa communities and the entire Perenti workforce.

“The safety of our employees is an absolute priority for Perenti, as it is for the industry more broadly. I am devastated that the families and friends of our two workmates have lost their loved ones. This outcome is simply not acceptable.

“In collaboration with MMG and the relevant authorities in Queensland, we will work to understand the circumstances behind this tragic incident and what additional measures need to be put in place to prevent this type of incident happening again.

“We would like to thank everyone who worked tirelessly under very challenging conditions in the recovery of Trevor and Dylan.

“The rescue operation has now sadly completed. Our primary focus is that of support for the families and colleagues of Trevor and Dylan and in parallel completing a comprehensive investigation.”

Unless further material information comes to light, no further formal updates will be provided such that our full resources can continue to focus on supporting the families and conducting the investigation.

We ask that the privacy of the families of Trevor and Dylan, and their work colleagues, is respected during this deeply distressing time.

Further to our announcement yesterday, Perenti provides an update in relation to the incident at the Dugald River underground mine in Cloncurry, Queensland.

Rescue efforts continued overnight as Barminco worked closely with MMG and relevant authorities to undertake and progress the search and rescue operation.

The rescue team have employed the use of drones, void scanning technology and video imagery and this has enabled them to locate the light vehicle that we believe the two missing employees were driving.

The rescue team have been working throughout the night including with the use of heavy underground mining equipment to gain access to the vehicle.

Managing Director & CEO of Perenti, Mr Norwell, said the highly skilled mine rescue team is focused on executing the rescue operation as quickly and safely as possible.

“While the situation is still evolving, we are in contact with the family members of our missing team members and Perenti is providing support to their colleagues and rescue team.

“Everyone at Perenti is feeling the impact of this incident and whilst we hold deep concerns for the safety of our colleagues, we continue to be hopeful that a positive outcome can be achieved.”

We will provide further updates as relevant information becomes available.

Incident at Dugald River

15 February 1730 AWST

Further to the announcement made this morning, Perenti provides an update in relation to the incident that occurred earlier today at the Dugald River underground mine in Queensland.Unfortunately, two Barminco employees remain unaccounted for and the site emergency response team has been activated. Barminco is working closely with MMG and relevant authorities to undertake the search and rescue operation.

We can confirm the following:

• Three of our employees were involved in an incident, approximately 125 meters below surface.
• Two separate vehicles, a light vehicle and a drill rig fell into a void in a previously filled stope.
• One of the employees, a drill rig operator, has been rescued and received medical attention for minor, non-life threatening injuries.
• We believe the two missing Barminco employees remain 125 meters below the surface and we are using drone technology to understand the specific conditions of the area. This will enable us to ensure the safety of the emergency rescue team.
• This drone is fitted with technology that can capture video and data regarding the size of the cavity where the light vehicle is located.
• The rescue will commence post analysis of the data and in accordance with a rescue management plan.

Managing Director & CEO of Perenti, Mr Norwell, said the highly skilled mine rescue team is focused on executing a rescue operation as quickly and safely as possible.

“Our teams have been operating MMG’s Dugald River mine since 2012 with much of our workforce residing in the local area.  I know that a large proportion of the local Cloncurry community either work at the site or know someone who works at the site.  My thoughts are with the families and friends of our two missing colleagues, and with the Cloncurry community.”

“Everyone at Perenti is feeling the impact of this incident and we continue to be hopeful that a positive outcome can be achieved. While the situation is still evolving, Perenti is also providing support to family members and colleagues of our missing team members. We will provide further updates as relevant information becomes available.”