There was no warning of a rock fall that killed a man working in an open-cut mine in Tasmania's north-west, a coroner has found.
Nathaniel Owen Beesley, 32, died from crush injuries at the Savage River mine on March 17, 2017.
Coroner Simon Cooper, who on Thursday handed down his findings into Beesley's death, said there was no evidence to suggest there was warning of the rock fall, or that any member of the team Beesley was part of had dislodged the rock that killed him.
"There is no evidence, at all, which would support a finding that any member of the SRG team, or anyone for that matter, had any specific concerns that were directly relevant to the risk of the rock fall that occurred at approximately 11am on 17 March 2017," Mr Cooper said.
Beesley — a former Royal Marine — was part of a team of four who were to undertake scaling work on an open-cut mine wall that had been deemed a rock fall risk to workers below.
Scaling involves abseiling down the face of the wall and removing loose rocks, as the worker makes their way down.
In 2017, WorkSafe Tasmania, Grange Resources and SRG determined this was the best course of action in order to make the mine wall safer, at least in the short term.
Prior to the incident, between late February to early March, SRG was able to undertake about two weeks of scaling work.
At 11am on March 17, while Beesley and his team of three were working, a rock fall occurred.
It would be another four days before Beesley's body was recovered from under the fallen rocks and debris.
The other three team members survived.
He said that since Beesley's death, a machine had been developed that would avoid the need for manual scaling.
Coroner recommends amending guidance
Mr Cooper said there was some discrepancy between the guidance material issued by the chief inspector of mines relating to what requires a hazard management plan, and what is stipulated by the Mining Work Health and Safety Regulations.
While one requires ground strata instability – the issue that led to the engagement of SRG and Beesley's death — to have a hazard management plan, the other does not.
Mr Cooper recommended that the Mine Safety Steering Committee meets "as soon as practicable" to consider amending the regulations.
At the time of Beesley's death, his widow Katie lashed out at the Australian Defence Force over delays the family experienced in securing an ADF job.
Colleagues of the former British Royal Marine paid tribute at the time to the man nicknamed "Bees" who was described as "a warrior".
The Savage River mine has been in operation since 1966.
