Sudbury mining inquest hears from worker who was near fatal incident

A coroner's jury in Sudbury has heard from a miner who described the run of muck that killed two men as "like nothing he had heard before".

Miners Jordan Fram and Jason Chenier were killed in Ore Pass No. 7 in Vale's Stobie Mine on June 8, 2011.

Richard Proulx said during the fourth day of the inquest he was examining the scoop on his scoop tram in a drift not far from the ore pass when the run happened.

Proulx says his ears popped. He saw the flexible ventilation tube collapse and re-inflate three times with the massive rush of air.

His supervisor, Luke St. Amant, descended and stopped at the entrance to the ore pass where he saw mud filling the opening.

The muck spilled out around the wheels of Chenier's Jeep and Fram's scoop tram. There was no sign of the two men.

Digging with his hands

St. Amant says he started to dig at the mix of sand, ore, blasted rock and water with his hands. Making no progress, he and another miner jumped on the scoop tram and started digging.

They recovered Chenier's body, then rescue workers took over and recovered Fram's remains.

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The jury has also heard from explosives expert David Osinski, who described blasting blockages that had been causing problems before the fatal incident.

Osinski had successfully removed a clog in an ore pass the same day as the accident, he said.

Chenier later told Osinski he would blast in the same area. Not much later, Chenier and Fram were dead. 

The inquest, which is expected to last 10 days, is mandatory under the Coroners Act because there were mining deaths.

The jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths from occurring.