First Nickel ordered to hand over documents in deaths of 2 workers

First Nickel is required to turn over documents pertaining to the deaths of two workers yesterday at its Lockerby Mine near Sudbury, Ont., according to the Ontario Ministry of Labour.

Marc Methe, 34, and Norm Bissaillon, 49, who work for Taurus Drilling Services, were working at the mine on contract Tuesday when they died following a fall.

First Nickel president and CEO Thomas Boehlert said that the fall at its underground operations was preceded by “seismic activity,” which is believed to have been a factor in the incident.

Bruce Skeaff, a spokesman for the Ministry of Labour, said that First Nickel was ordered to provide training records, shift lineups and reports on any seismic activity by Friday.

The mine remains barricaded until further notice.

Taurus Drilling said Methe was a hard-working man, committed and enthusiastic about his trade. He had been with the company for about four years.

Bissaillon was described as a family man who often spoke about his children. He had worked in mining for more than 20 years.

Unifor, the union that represents workers at First Nickel’s Lockerby Mine, has said it plans to assist in the investigation even though contract workers are not part of the union.

“It’s such a tight-knit community,” said local Unifor president Anne Marie McInnes. “The mining community is a very tight-knit community and everybody feels terrible.”

The Ministry of Labour, Sudbury police, the company and union are all investigating what led to the deaths of the two men.