King of the Hills tragedy: Mine worker dies after light vehicle crash at Vault Minerals mine near Leonora

A worker at a mine site in the northern Goldfields died when the vehicle he was travelling in rolled after it left the road. The 38-year-old was employed by DeltaFM, a subcontractor engaged by the catering contractor at Vault Minerals’ King of the Hills gold mine north of Leonora. He was a passenger in a Toyota Hilux which was travelling along a 40km/h stretch of a site access road when the crash happened at 4.55am on Tuesday. “The driver of the vehicle sustained minor injuries and is receiving medical treatment,” the company revealed on Wednesday. “Vault is not aware of any other personnel or vehicles involved in the incident. “The company extends its sincere condolences to the deceased’s family, friends and colleagues and is providing support to the workforce during this difficult time.” The driver, a 32-year-old man, was taken to Kalgoorlie Health Campus for treatment. The incident has been reported to WA Police and the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety and Vault said it was assisting with investigations. Operations at King of the Hill were suspended following the incident but are expected to resume Wednesday. The fatality followed a horror streak of five WA road deaths over the Easter long weekend. The tragedy marks the second death on a WA mine site this year. Simon Mukwarami was working as a boilermaker on a digester at South32’s Worsley Alumina refinery near Collie, when he fell through a grid mesh walkway to his death during the early hours of March 14. The 47-year-old, much-loved father died at the refinery because there were “no controls” in place “to prevent a fall”, a leaked document from the State’s safety regulator revealed last week. A WorkSafe notice provided to South32 following the fatality flagged significant issues on site. Road Trauma Support WA 1300 004 814.