A ZINC mine which is about to be taken over by an Indian multi-national is under investigation following an underground explosion which killed one man and left another injured.
The man in his late 40s died after the incident at Lisheen mine in Co Tipperary on Wednesday evening. He was named as Joe Fallon, a father of three from Two-Mile-Borris near Thurles, who worked as a manager at the facility.
Chris Barlow, who is in his 50s, sustained “not life-threatening” injuries according to gardaí and was taken to Cork University Hospital where he remained yesterday. He is a mechanic from the village of Moyne outside Thurles.
Investigations were launched by local gardaí and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) immediately after the incident at the mine, which was described locally as having a previously “unblemished” safety record.
It is understood an explosion occurred about 190m underground in a mine shaft close to an access point.
Manager of the mine John Elms said everyone in Lisheen was “utterly devastated” by what happened, and described Mr Fallon as “a deeply-respected colleague”.
The company issued a statement yesterday in which it confirmed that operations were suspended pending investigations. “Our sincere condolences go to the family of the deceased.”
Located between the villages of Moyne and Templetuohy in north Tipperary, Lisheen is about three miles north of Thurles and employs 374 people.
The property was cordoned off yesterday while Garda experts and HSA investigators carried out an examination.
It is understood the emergency services informed the HSA about the explosion shortly after it occurred at about 6.30pm on Wednesday, and an inspection of the mine was due to finish by yesterday evening.
The dead man’s body remained at the scene for some time yesterday while the investigations continued. He lived in Callan, Co Kilkenny.
“It was reported to us as an explosion, but as of yet we’re not sure as to what was the actual cause of that explosion,” a HSA spokesperson said. Lisheen mine opened in 1999 and is owned by Anglo-American plc mining multinational.
It is currently the subject of a takeover by Hindustan Zinc Ltd, a division of the Indian conglomerate Vedanta Resources Group.
An order approving the €308 million sale of Lisheen, which is one of the biggest sources of zinc concentrates in Europe, was signed by outgoing minister for energy Pat Carey this week.