Paul Egan, a miner, was tragically killed by a rock fall Wednesday night in the recently re-opened underground Bralorne-Pioneer mine near the town of Goldbridge, B.C. Bralorne Gold Mines (BPM-V) reported that the hanging wall suddenly collapsed and killed Mr. Egan during scaling of the wall late Wednesday night.
Bralorne’s CEO, Louis Wolfin issued a statement extending his sympathies to Mr. Egan’s family saying that Mr. Egan, aged 52 years, was well-respected and a dedicated miner – one of the first to be hired by the company. Mr. Egan had worked on numerous underground mining projects in Canada throughout his life.
The incidient will be investigated by the RCMP and officials from the B.C. Mines Ministry and the coroner, as well as the Workers’ Compensation Board. It is not clear how the incident will affect future plans for the operation.
After lying dormant for more than 30 years, the company revved up the mill at the Bralorne property last April. A 40-oz. dor bar was poured from gold recovered around the property earlier this summer.
After initially processing some lower grade ore, higher grade material from the Peter Vein was being fed to the mill which was to be ramped up to 125 tons per day.
The company recently shipped a second truckload of flotation concentrate to Queenstake Resources’ (QRL-T) Jerritt Canyon mine in Nevada. The shipment contained 22 tons of dry concentrates, which were to be processed under an agreement signed in August.
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