On November 21, just over three weeks after two workers were killed and a third seriously injured in an explosion at the Endeavor mine, north of Cobar in outback New South Wales (NSW), mine owner Polymetals Resources Ltd held its annual general meeting (AGM).

The overall tone of the company’s presentation to shareholders was jubilant, declaring from the beginning “2025 is a milestone year.” It emphasised the company’s rapid development, from acquisition of the Endeavor mine in August 2024 to first achieving cashflow in July 2025.

Mention of the workers’ deaths was limited to a token reference on page seven, under the heading “Endeavour’s restart [in May] was a testament to our hard-working team.” In utterly cynical fashion, the presentation boasts that “Polymetals is now 200 plus people strong,” before noting, “We will forever remember Patrick ‘Ambrose’ McMullen and Holly Clarke who lost their lives on October 2025 [sic].” This was followed by the claim, “The safety and well being of our team will always be our number one priority.”

The thrust of the presentation was that the still-unexplained explosion and the death of two workers just 24 days earlier was a minor blip that will not disrupt the company’s future prospects.

The date of the AGM may well have been a factor in Polymetals’ urgent drive to reopen the mine, starting mere days after the incident. It is worthwhile reviewing the timeline:

• October 28: At around 3 a.m., a ballistic disc explosive being set up to clear a blockage in the stope detonates prematurely, killing shift supervisor McMullen and charge-up operator Clarke, and badly injuring another worker, Mackenzie Stirling. Trading of Polymetals shares on the Australian Stock Exchange is suspended.
• October 31: The trading halt is lifted and Polymetals’ share price plummets from $1.25 to $0.92. The company announces that a “staged” reopening will commence November 5. The NSW Resources Regulator warns it may ban the explosives involved in the incident and recommends mine operators consider alternative methods.
• November 6: Polymetals announces the accelerated resumption of operations, emphasising that the regulator has placed few restrictions on the reopening and left the company to determine when it is safe to resume blasting.
• November 18: Polymetals announces “mining and milling operations have successfully recommenced,” following a “rigorous review of our handling and use of explosives procedures.”
• November 21: Polymetals holds its AGM.
  

Notwithstanding this “rigorous review,” the AGM presentation states, “We are committed to finding out how this accident happened,” echoing an earlier comment by Polymetals Executive Chairman David Sproule that the company was “seeking to understand” the accident and “hoping” for an improvement in safety.

In other words, Polymetals says it does not know what caused McMullen and Clarke’s deaths, the state “safety regulator” has no explanation for what happened, but the company is proceeding with the profit-driven reopening anyway.

The financial figures reported at the AGM and in other Polymetals documents make clear the impulse for a quick resumption of production.

As of September 30, the AGM presentation stated, the company had $17 million in cash, but $14 million in drawn debt, with a further $9.52 million of available finance. While Polymetals proudly reported “In August, the Endeavor Mine’s revenue met operating costs whilst repaying $2.5m of debt,” the company’s revenue has come from prepayments for concentrate, much of which has not yet been shipped. The company’s first-ever shipment, of zinc concentrate, was only made in October, while its first shipment of the more lucrative silver concentrate has been delayed from this month to next.

Also looming for Polymetals is a $34 million environmental rehabilitation bond, which it must replace by August 2026 as a final condition of its acquisition of the mine from previous owner CBH Holdings.

Polymetals’ latest annual report reveals the company lost $47.8 million in the 2024–2025 financial year, and that, as of June 30, its current liabilities (not including the bond) exceeded its current assets by more than $24 million. The company’s “continuing viability,” the report says, hinges entirely on whether it can “transition successfully as a mining producer which would be substantially bolstered by successful exploration.”

In other words, the existence of Polymetals not only depends on the uninterrupted continuation of the mining already underway, but on the success of its attempts to locate and develop new deposits.

“These figures indicate,” the report continues, “a material uncertainty which may cast doubt as to whether the consolidated entity will continue as a going concern.” To address this uncertainty, the company said it planned to raise additional capital, through the issuance of shares and “other forms of financing.”

The overwhelmingly positive tone of Polymetals’ AGM presentation, despite the recent death of two workers and the company’s somewhat precarious financial circumstances, is a product of its existential dependence on the confidence of existing shareholders and prospective investors. Above all, the presentation was a sales pitch.

Polymetals, a small company that is “all in” on the financial success of its only mine, is proceeding with the full resumption of operations at Endeavor because, like any company under capitalism, it is compelled to serve the financial demands of shareholders, not protect the lives of workers.

No official explanation for the October 28 tragedy has been provided. An interim report released yesterday by the NSW Resources Regulator offers no conclusions as to what happened and how to prevent it happening again.

This report, published exactly 28 days after the workers’ death, the latest it legally could be, and providing as many questions as it does answers, underscores that the government “safety regulator” cannot be relied upon to protect workers any more than the mine owners can. The regulator has allowed the Endeavor reopening to proceed, although it either does not know, or is not saying, what caused the deaths of McMullen and Clarke, and what danger is posed to other workers at Endeavor and throughout the mining industry.

The Australian Workers Union and the Mining and Energy Union, which, in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, made hollow statements of condolence, are nowhere to be seen. The union’s silence about the death of two workers and the injury of a third mirrors and implicitly endorses the company’s efforts to sweep the events of October 28 under the rug and move on.

Moreover, the unions have said nothing about the mine’s reopening, making clear their tacit approval of the profit-driven move and offering workers no alternative to returning to work in spite of their safety concerns.

This means workers need to take matters into their own hands. The truth will only be uncovered through an investigation led by workers themselves. A rank-and-file committee of Endeavor workers should be established to oversee this. As a matter of urgency, such a committee should fight to reverse the reopening and insist that workers are paid in full for the duration of the investigation. Mining operations should resume only when and if workers themselves determine that the cause has been identified and fully rectified.

Across Australia and globally, miners and workers in every industry confront escalating demands for speed-ups and increased “productivity,” as well as attacks on real wages and other working conditions. Workplace deaths are the sharpest expression of the voracious appetite of corporations and their financial backers for ever-growing profits.

This underscores that the struggle for a workers’ investigation of McMullen and Clarke’s deaths must be part of a broader fight for workers’ safety and lives everywhere. Through building a rank-and-file committee at Endeavor, workers in Cobar can begin to link up with their counterparts around the world, through the International Workers’ Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees.

The World Socialist Web Site and Socialist Equality Party pledge to provide every political assistance in this fight. This will depend on workers coming forward, breaking the gag order imposed by Polymetals. We urge workers at Endeavor and others in Cobar and throughout the mining industry to contact us with whatever information you have about the October 28 incident and safety in the mines. We will protect your anonymity from the companies, unions and government authorities.