Safety is not ArcelorMittal's priority, a former employee of the mining company said Tuesday morning during the company's trial at the Sept-Îles courthouse.
Engineer Mélanie Plante testified in a proceeding to determine her status as an expert witness in the ArcelorMittal trial, accused of criminal negligence resulting in injuries.
Mélanie Plante worked at the Mount Wright mining complex near Fermont from 2004 to 2023. She is familiar with the circumstances of the industrial accident in June 2019 in which a worker was seriously injured. It was she who wrote a damage report on behalf of her employer about the breakage of a conveyor belt that caused the accident. It concluded that the accident was caused by poor maintenance and inadequate design of the conveyor. She pointed out that this mobile equipment, the most important in the mine, is complex and capricious and requires strict maintenance.
The engineer also pointed out that ArcelorMittal's priority is not on safety, but on the production of iron concentrate. In cross-examination with ArcelorMittal's lawyer, she made it clear that the multinational company wants to produce safely.
The court must assess whether it has the necessary impartiality and independence to act as an expert. The same exercise is being carried out for a consultant, Michel Rondeau, a materials handling specialist who analyzed the parts damaged in the accident for ArcelorMittal, a job he described as “monk's work”. He worked closely with ArcelorMittal engineer Mélanie Plante.
The criminal and criminal prosecutor's office also wants him to be qualified as an expert. His testimony continues Wednesday morning. The parties' arguments on this voir dire will take place on Thursday.
The core of the trial is scheduled to begin in March, with four weeks of hearings scheduled, including one in Fermont. Additional court dates need to be added in May to complete this process.