Mine deaths should embarrass BHP: Moore

The West Australian government says it hopes BHP Billiton is "embarrassed" by the
number of deaths at its mines in Western Australia this financial year.
WA Mines Minister Norman Moore has met with BHP executives after the fifth fatality
at the miner's iron ore operations in this financial year.
A 45-year-old contractor, an employee of engineering group John Holland, died at the
company's Newman iron ore hub on Thursday.
The fatality follows the deaths of workers at the Mt Newman railway, at BHP's Yandi
mine and the company's Nelson Point Operations at Port Hedland.
"I think that this is an unacceptable situation," Mr Moore said after Friday's meeting.
"If they're embarrassed about that then so much the better. It might actually help
overcome the problem that seems to exist."
Mr Moore said that while WA's record of death in mines was good by international
comparisons, there had been a recent spike.
"Their (BHP) record is not satisfactory, it's totally unacceptable," he said.
"One fatality is too many. Nine in the last five years is grossly unacceptable."
The minister said he didn't know what had caused the spate of deaths, but it needed
to be addressed.
"The question was asked yesterday in the (upper) house of the number of fatalities
on BHP sites compared to the number of fatalities on Rio Tinto sites. There are nine
in the last five years on BHP sites and none on Rio sites," Mr Moore said.
"Now that says something in my view about the practices of BHP ... and I want to
know what they're going to do about it."
Opposition mines spokesman John Ford has called for an independent review of safety
across the mining and construction industries.