Vale, First Nickel, Taurus Drilling make first court appearances in Sudbury

First appearances have been made in two separate court cases involving mining fatalities in Sudbury.

A Unifor health and safety rep and the families of the two men who were killed at Lockerby Mine in 2014 were in court Friday.

Union rep Dave Stewart says a lawyer appeared on behalf of First Nickel. The mining company faces eight charges connected to the double fatality. Taurus Drilling also faces five charges in connection with the deaths. Owner Roger Breault appeared to hear the charges read against his company.

The next court date in that case is set for Nov. 18.

In a separate case, lawyers appeared on behalf of Vale to hear nine charges related to the death of a man at the Copper Cliff Smelter in April of 2014.

Eight additional charges were filed against two supervisors and one employee.

The next court date in that case is set for July 15.