At about 4:30 pm on the 12th of August 2019,
on the western tip head of the Snapper Mineral Sands Mine,
a dozer operator requested a water bottle from the crib room.
About 15 minutes later a leading hand worker,
driving a light vehicle, arrived at the tip head.
He contacted the dozer operator by radio
and arranged to meet at a light tower located at the tip head.
It was common practice at the mine for vehicles to use the lighting towers as park-up areas and meeting points.
The operator stopped the dozer, lowered its implements and had a radio conversation with the worker.
A short time later, the worker contacted the dozer operator via radio
and told him to track back to the light tower.
Before reversing, the dozer operator checked the area by looking out all windows,
as well as the rear-view mirror and did not see a light vehicle behind him.
The dozer had only reversed about 10 to 15 metres
at a speed of about 6 kilometers per hour before colliding with the light vehicle.
Immediately after the collision the dozer operator stopped,
moved forward, lowered the implements, shut the machine down and exited the cab.
The worker was the only occupant of the light vehicle.
An emergency response was activated.