A long-running investigation into the death of a worker at a Kalgoorlie gold mine continues to drag on more than 12 months after his death.
Paul Tamati Ereka Martin died at the Daisy Milano underground mine, 50 kilometres south-east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, on June 10 last year.
Mr Martin was working for mining contractor Macmahon Holdings at the time.
His death saw mining suspended briefly as the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) sent investigators to Daisy Milano.
The safety regulator has remained tight-lipped since the incident, and despite numerous requests from the ABC it will not publicly comment on the investigation other than to say it is still "ongoing".
In March, when DMIRS released its annual report on safety performance in the WA mining industry for the 2020-21 financial year, Mr Martin was not counted among the two fatal accidents officially recorded.
They were both underground incidents.
Bogger operator Michael Benjamin Johnson, 38, died at the Dervish gold mine near Kalgoorlie-Boulder after his loader plummeted over an open stope.
Paige Taylor Counsell, 25, died at the Big Bell gold mine after being hit by a truck underground.
Mr Martin's omission could be for many reasons, including simply that the cause of death is still yet to be formally determined.
It may also mean, as has been the case in previous cases where natural causes were found, that his death may later be ruled as not a mining accident and fall outside of official statistical reporting.
Mining industry veteran Doug Daws is a former chief draftsman for Gold Mines of Kalgoorlie who had the sad task of making drawings and measurements for the Coroner after several underground fatalities.
He has also been heavily involved with the creation of the Eastern Goldfields Miners' Memorial.
While he does not know the circumstances, he called Mr Martin's death a "tragedy".
"It does seem to be taking an extraordinary amount of time," Mr Daws said of the investigation.
"Is this the new age of bureaucracy which has been thrust upon the mining industry by people in Perth?
While the circumstances remain a mystery, Mr Martin's name and two photographs were this week published on the Western Australian Virtual Miners Memorial at the request of his family, to mark the first anniversary of his death.
The online memorial is curated by Kalgoorlie historian Moya Sharp and includes the names of more than 2,000 miners who have died in WA.
Mrs Sharp has dedicated her life to researching the stories of fallen miners after her 22-year-old son Andrew Heaney died in the Super Pit gold mine in 2004.
