Glencore charged in death of Sudbury miner Richard Pigeau

The Ministry of Labour has laid seven charges against Glencore and one its employeesin the death of Sudbury miner a year ago.

54-year-old Richard Pigeau died at Nickel Rim South Mine in October 2015.

• Worker killed at Nickel Rim South mine in Sudbury

• Richard Pigeau killed in Nickel Rim South mine incident: union

The company is charged with interfering or altering the scene of a workplace fatality, failing to provide instruction to protect the safety of a worker,failing to ensure that equipment is properly maintained, along with other offences.

Glencore supervisor Steven Holmikhas also been charged with failing to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a workerand failing, as a worker, to work in a manner that did not endanger another worker.

The mining company says it is reviewing the charges laid under the Health and Safety Act.

"The loss of Mr. Pigeau continues to be painful for everyone who knew him and something we continue to take very seriously," the company said in a statement.

"As we review the legal aspects of this matter, our primary focus remains on the health and safety of our people, and doing everything we can to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring.We conducted an investigation jointly with union officials with a goal of learning from this fatality and have implemented the resulting action items, as well as engaged our workforce in a review of the incident as part of our continuous safety dialogue."

• Glencore Sudbury mine death puts spotlight on mining equipment

Glencore was also charged by the Ministry of Labour in June withhindering, obstructingand interfering with a ministryinspector's attempt to execute a search warrant on the company in April.

The ministry is now confirming that these charges are also related to the Pigeau case, bringing the total of charges stemming from that accident to nine.

Anne-Marie MacInnis, the president of the Mine Mill union that represents Glencore workers, couldn't comment on that or on whether or not conditions in Nickel Rim have improved.

But she did say that Pigeau's death continues to be felt by the workforce and that his colleagues are holding a memorial today, the one-year anniversary of his death.

"I can say to you today that there's a lot of people thinking of Richard. That that accident touched some people to the core," she said.