Compass Minerals has been fined $75,000 following a serious workplace incident at its Goderich salt mine in Ontario, Canada — the largest underground salt mine in the world.
The incident occurred in December 2022, when an electrician was critically injured during maintenance on a flexible conveyor train. The machinery unexpectedly restarted during the repair, causing life-altering injuries. A Ministry of Labour investigation concluded that the company failed to implement necessary safety measures, including clear signage and physical barriers around active repair zones.
Compass Minerals pled guilty in January 2025 and was handed the fine alongside a 25% victim surcharge.
While the fine is minor relative to the scale of Compass Minerals’ operations, the event underscores ongoing challenges in underground mine safety and the non-negotiable importance of robust lockout/tagout protocols — particularly in high-risk environments like salt mining.
