BHP has confirmed that all Nickel West employees are safe after it temporarily lost communication with its underground workers following an earthquake on Wednesday.
Geoscience Australia reported that a magnitude 4 light-shallow focus seismic event struck near the mine at Leinster in Western Australia on Wednesday, at a depth of five kilometres.
A BHP spokeswoman said the earthquake resulted in a power outage and subsequent loss of communication with members of the underground team.
“All team members are safe, uninjured and accounted for,” she said.
“The safety of our people and operations is underpinned by our strong operating systems, technical monitoring procedures and the diligence and hard work of our teams.
“There is nothing more important than the safety of our people. In line with our usual processes, operations will resume once safety tests have been completed.”