A worker at the Kanmantoo copper mine in the Adelaide Hills who was rushed to hospital yesterday could not have suffered from gas inhalation, according to mine owner Hillgrove Resources.
The man in his 50s experienced a bout of dizziness while working in a hazardous area and wearing a positive air pressure respirator.
SA Ambulance said the man was suffering from gas inhalation, however an investigation by Worksafe SA yesterday showed no breach of health and safety regulations.
Hillgrove Resources chief executive and managing director Steven McClare said early investigations showed gas was not a factor in the employee's condition.
"At this stage … there has been no indication of any gases [or] chemicals in that area and the symptoms are not consistent [with exposure to gas] at this moment, but we are undergoing a full investigation,” McClare told the ABC.
"We have a specialist company that will come look at that and help us with the investigation but the … symptoms are not consistent with any gases or chemicals we have in that area.
"We suspect it is not [related] but until we finish a full investigation we cannot tell."
McClare said that gas detection apparatus used in the area did not trigger any alarm.
"None of that has gone off and tests by the Country Fire Service and ourselves have found no indication of gas in the area," he said.