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Body of missing Mt Isa Miner found

Mount IsaThe body of missing Mt Isa miner, Brett Kelly, has been found by a team of searchers 20 days after he went missing in the underground copper mine in Queensland’s north west.

Search teams found the body on Monday after spending eight days sorting through 8000 tonnes of copper ore by hand, bucket by bucket, after it was excavated from the mine’s ore pass by machine.

Mount Isa police inspector, Trevor Kidd, told the North West Star that the body would still need to be formally identified.

“The process could take several days”, Inspector Kidd said.

Glencore’s North Queensland copper operations chief operating officer Mike Westerman expressed his condolences to the deceased man’s family.

“I have been deeply saddened by this tragic situation and my thoughts remain with Brett’s family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time,” he said.

The search team, comprising police forensic officers, Mount Isa Mines employees, and Safety and Health Mining Inspectorate officers worked 12 hour shifts, around the clock in their search efforts.

Investigations into how Mr Kelly fell into the one kilometre deep ore pass are continuing, with a report to be prepared by the coroner.

“This one is certainly unique in regards to the nature of the operation,” Inspector Kidd said.

Mr Kelly was reported missing from the mine site on Wednesday, June 18.

The site was searched and the initial search-and-rescue phase of the operation ended two days later after it was believed Mr Kelly fell into the ore pass.

Mount Isa Police are asking anyone with information that could assist the inquiry to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800333000 or visit the website at crimestoppers.com.au.

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