By PAUL YANDALL
WAIHI - Two Martha Mine workers were left fighting for their lives after they drove their ute into a treatment pond containing cyanide - just weeks before the latest death at the goldmine.
Christiaan Casselberry said he left the Waihi mine in disgust at his treatment after he and fellow worker Mike Brown were nearly killed when they fell into the pond on May 17.
Waihi Gold Mining general manager Mike Slight confirmed that the pair had driven into the waste treatment pond, but said it was only used to catch runoff water and "did not have enough cyanide in it to kill them."
Cyanide is used to extract gold from crushed ore and is taken to the treatment plant to be destroyed.
Trace elements of the poison can be found in the sludge runoff pond next to the plant.
Mr Casselberry said he was in shock over the death of his friend, Douglas Pourau, on Monday at the mine.
The truck Mr Pourau was driving fell 45m into the opencast mine.
That incident followed the death of Nicholas Moncur last September after being crushed by a crane.
Three people have died at the mine since it began operations in 1988.
Mr Casselberry said that at 3.15 am on May 17, he and Mr Brown, who still works at the site, were dumping scrap metal at the treatment plant when the ute fell into the pond.
"There was no lighting or barrier on the cyanide waste pond," he said.
"One of the tyres went over the side, but because we had 800 kilos of steel on it we tipped, rolled and got trapped.
"I was on the passenger side and I was completely underwater for about three seconds. We kicked and scratched when the cab completely filled up with water.
"Mike looked at me as I was being covered in water and he said to me he'd never forget the look on my face.
"I took a breath as I was being covered and I thought, 'I'm going to die.'
"I had Mike on top of me so I was completely pinned and underwater, and when the cab depressurised we managed to get the door open and we got out of there."
He said inspectors arrived to conduct tests at the pond.
"The only reason that we didn't die because of the cyanide - we had burning eyes for days - was because it had been raining for two weeks and it had diluted to a level where it was irritating but it wasn't deadly."
Mr Casselberry said he left the job after the incident, upset at how the company handled it.
"Management were more concerned with production than anything else.
"They didn't even apologise."
But Mr Slight said the pool would not have had enough cyanide in it to harm the pair, even if the rainfall had not diluted it.
"That's not to say that there was no cyanide in there. We use it at the site, and it occurs naturally, of course."
He said there were extenuating circumstances in the incident. The men did not know the area and were there at night.
A barrier and warning signs had since been put up next to the pond.
Mr Slight said Occupational Safety and Health officers inspected the mine regularly and the site had just won an award for its safety record.
Waikato OSH manager Mark Whatnall said a mines' inspector had visited the site and found only trace elements of cyanide in the pool.
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