Alrosa President Sergey Ivanov has signed an order on disciplinary sanctions against the Director and Chief Engineer of ALROSA’s Mirny Mining and Processing Division over the tragic accident at the Mir diamond mine in August.
According to the company, “Director of Mirny Mining and Processing Division Mikhail Lopatinsky and Chief Engineer of Mirny Mining and Processing Division Alexander Kisilichin have been suspended from their positions with subsequent dismissal from the Company for the improper performance of their duties and weakening of the production control”. Additionally, other responsible persons, including persons in the top management, “have been reprimanded, [and] pecuniary sanctions have been imposed on them. The order also prescribes considering the matter related to the job competence of the Head of Mir underground mine Alexey Burkser and Chief Engineer Sergey Ekel”. The list of responsible persons is expanded to 24 people to include the management of Mir underground mine, Mirny Mining and Processing Division, ALROSA and Yakutniproalmaz Institute.
The official investigation into the fatal accident on the Mir diamond mine on August 4, which cost the lives of eight miners, came to a close on November 10. The commission appointed to investigate the accident came to the conclusion that the accident was caused by “a set of hydrogeological, technical and organizational factors. One of the main reasons was the anomalous hydrogeological complexity of the deposit due to a system of unfavorably underlying cracks in the structural fracture”. No single factor caused the accident, and the conditions that led to the accident “did not happen abruptly”, but took several years to develop.
