Contractor dies at Griffin's Caijiaying Mine

(Sharecast News) - Griffin Mining announced the death of an employee of a mining contractor at its Caijiaying Mine on Monday.

The AIM-traded firm said the incident occurred on the evening of 11 October, when an ore pass filled with excavated paste buried the contractor's loader and its operator.

Despite being swiftly transported to Zhangbei Hospital, the worker was pronounced dead on arrival.

In compliance with Chinese regulatory requirements, Griffin Mining said it had suspended all operations at the Caijiaying Mine to allow for a full investigation into the incident.

While operations remained halted, regulatory authorities had reportedly expressed a desire for the mine to reopen as soon as possible once the investigation was complete.

"A death in any family or organisation is inevitably a tragedy for the family involved and the numerous people, organisations and entities whose life that person would have interacted with on a regular basis," said chairman Mladen Ninkov.

"In a company such as Griffin, where safety is not only our overwhelming priority, but also where contractors and their staff become part of the Griffin 'family', this fatality has severely impacted our staff, contractors and operations.

"It strengthens our continuing resolve to redouble our efforts to ensure safety is our first, second and last priority."

At 1249 BST, shares in Griffin Mining were down 2.52% at 155p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.