Lawyers for the Beaconsfield Gold Mine have condemned union claims of safety breaches as scandalous, before dramatically withdrawing from most of the inquest into a miner's death.
High drama marked the opening day today of the Launceston inquest into the death of miner Larry Knight in a rockfall on April 25, 2006.
Fellow miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb, who were rescued after being trapped underground for 14 days, will give evidence on Thursday.
Mr Knight's widow Jacquie Knight said today she hoped the inquest would tell her why he died, and whether his death could have been prevented.
But in a surprise move that will deal a blow to the proceedings, lawyers for the northern Tasmanian mine today sought leave to withdraw from most of the inquest.
The company said key evidence had already been presented and its lawyers would return only to question four of the 36 inquest witnesses - all senior mine managers.
Beaconsfield earlier this month urged the coroner against holding an inquest, saying it was unnecessary following previous costly, expert investigations into the mine.
"We believe the evidence that would come out has already been presented and there's nothing further we could add to that," Beaconsfield Gold chief executive Bill Colvin said today.
Unions have claimed financial pressures compromised safety at Beaconsfield in the lead-up to the 2006 rockfall.
Mine lawyer David Neal said the inquest would hear four Australian Workers Union statements that raised the implication that the mine "put production ahead of safety".
"In the absence of any proper basis, that is a scandalous implication," he said.
Dr Neal said the fatal rockfall at the mine, which was under financial administration, was "unpredictable and unforeseen".
He said the mine has already provided Coroner Rod Chandler with every piece of evidence from 11 expert reports, two state government investigations, and the mine's own probes.
Outside the inquest, Mr Colvin said unsubstantiated union claims to be aired at the inquest were a kind of "kite flying" that should not be allowed.
These "scandalous allegations" were based on flimsy and factually incorrect evidence which had already been dealt with by investigators.
"We have been through an extremely exhaustive process," Mr Colvin said.
"We have bared our soul on this issue and the cupboard is essentially bare - there is no stone left to be unturned."
However the inquest will continue even without the Beaconsfield lawyers and tomorrow will tour the mine at the centre of the dramatic 2006 rockfall and rescue.
Kamal Farouque, lawyer for the Knight family and the union, said he was surprised and disappointed at the lawyers' withdrawal.
"We think that the inquest would have benefited from the full participation of the mine," he told reporters.
Mr Knight's widow Jacquie, supported by the miner's brother Shane Knight, attended the opening of the inquest today and heard he died instantly in the underground collapse.
Earlier, she said in a statement: "I know that his inquest will not bring Larry back.
"But for me it is important because it will help answer the important questions: why did Larry die, could his death have been prevented, and what can be done to prevent other mining deaths happening in the future?"
The mine resumed production last year and in June this year returned to full operation.
