Bureau Veritas Minerals Pty Ltd pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the South Australian Employment Court on 29 May 2026 after a SafeWork SA prosecution.

The incident occurred on 29 June 2023 when a 20-year-old worker was crushing rocks into smaller particles using a rock crushing machine.

The worker, who had only been employed at the business for a few weeks, pressed the stop button after a rock became jammed in the crusher. He then used the padlock key kept on a table beside the crusher to open the padlock and lift the arm.

The worker removed the guard revealing the two internal rollers but did not switch off the power source.

As he attempted to remove the jammed rock with his right hand, the rollers re-activated, pulling his gloved hand into the machine and crushing his fingertips.

Serious crush injuries were sustained to four fingers, and the tip of his index finger had to be amputated

Bureau Veritas Minerals was charged with one offence under section 32 of the Work Health Safety Act 2012 of failing to comply with its health and safety duty.

The SafeWork SA investigation found that the company failed to:

• provide safe plant by the use of an adequate interlock device on the crusher
• take adequate steps to ensure workers did not engage in unsafe practices while using the crusher
• assess the risk of the crusher being energised when a worker was performing the task
• provide adequate training, instruction or supervision while using the crusher.

Since the incident, Bureau Veritas Minerals has made a number of safety improvements such as reinforcing pre-start practices, monthly refresher training and safety upgrades to the crusher to remove power in the event of an emergency stop and guard activation.

In her sentencing remarks, Deputy President Judge Carrel said the potential risk was entirely foreseeable as the crusher was used almost daily and jams occurred frequently.

She said the risks were even greater when young, inexperienced workers were effectively left with little supervision and inadequate training.

“Faulty engineering control measures, when coupled with inadequate systems and training, in my view are at the higher end of the scale of being objectively serious,” Judge Carrel said.

“Engineering controls may lead to a false sense of security if they are faulty, as acknowledged by Bureau Veritas Minerals in its submissions.”

A conviction was recorded and Bureau Veritas Minerals was fined $350,000. This was reduced by 40 per cent to $210,000 for its early guilty plea.

Bureau Veritas Minerals was also ordered to pay a contribution to SafeWork SA’s legal costs of $2,310, and a Victim of Crime Levy of $437.

Attribute quotes to SafeWork SA Executive Director Glenn Farrell

Employers have a clear duty to ensure machinery is safe and workers are properly trained and supervised.

When machinery is not effectively isolated, the consequences can be life-altering, as we have seen here.

Young and inexperienced workers are particularly vulnerable and must be supported with adequate training, supervision and safe systems of work from day one.

Leaving them to manage known hazards like frequent blockages is unacceptable.

Further links:

• Prosecutions