Georgian Manganese Company has released a preliminary conclusion for the tragic incident that occurred at Darkveti mine in the western region of Chiatura, saying that the fatality “was not caused due to technical malfunction, a land collapse or any other accident at the scene”.
Miner Gaga Botchorishvili, 26, died at the Darkveti mine.
“It is noteworthy that the mine was inspected for technical safety two months ago by Technical and Construction Supervision Agency. The agency found that the mine met safety standards and working conditions”, declares Georgian Manganese Company.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs is investigating the incident.
In its recent report “No Year without Deaths: A Decade of Deregulation Puts Georgian Miners at Risk”, international non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch says that the safety of workers in Georgian mines is at serious risk.
The 60-page study published in late August says that the risk is caused by “insufficient government regulation and resulting mining practices that prioritizes production quotas and puts workers safety in jeopardy”.
Georgian Manganese Company, the largest manganese producer, operates 11 mines as well as a processing plant and has about 3,500 workers.
Georgian Trade Unions Confederation reported that 19 miners were killed and 16 were injured in 2018-2019 in Georgia. (Agenda/Ukrainian metal)