Mine fatality adds to pressure for Suncor Energy changes
BNN Bloomberg
A worker was killed at Suncor’s Base Plant mine in northern Alberta, the latest in a series of accidents that have shaken confidence in Canada’s biggest oil-sands producer and led to calls for changes in management.
A contractor’s employee died at the site early Thursday, Suncor spokeswoman Leithan Slade said in an email. The victim was a 26-year-old man from Fort McMurray, Alberta, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In April, Suncor investor Elliott Investment Management LP called for five directors to be added to the producer’s board and sought a management review after operational mishaps and accidents at its oil-sands projects caused the company to miss production targets. A truck accident in January killed a contractor and injured two others at the Base Plant mine. In June of last year, a person was killed at the Syncrude mine, and two deaths happened in December 2020 at the Fort Hills mine.
Suncor’s safety record has been a contributing factor to its poor investment returns. The company’s share price has risen about 18 per cent over the past five years, trailing the roughly 79 per cent gain for rival Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.
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