Mining coroner's inquest: Jason Chenier warned bosses of safety issues before death

A miner who died at the Stobie mine in 2011 had warned his supervisors about safety issues before his death, according to emails submitted as evidence by the crown at a coroner's inquest on Tuesday.

It is the second day jurors are looking into the deaths of two miners, Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram, in Sudbury in 2011. The pair died when they were buried in a run of sand, water and rock while investigating a clogged ore pass.

• Mining coroner's jury hears hazards of water in mines

During the days leading up to the tragedy, 35-year-old Chenier had e-mailed his supervisors and said there was a problem with water in an ore pass.

"'There's a substantial amount of water coming in a vent from above. I don't know where it's coming from. Should not be blasting or removing ore until it's fixed,'" crown attorney Susan Bruce read aloud from a book of evidence on Tuesday.

On Monday, the jury heard how water and sand caused blockages in tunnels in the days before their deaths, as engineers spoke of how the 100 year old Stobie Mine was infamous for being wet.

Engineer Timothy Hunt said water mixes with sand created from blasting rock, and combined, water and sand turn into a sticky substance called slime.

The material can compact and clog a vertical tunnel known as an ore pass, and water pooling on top of the blockage can liquefy the material and make it fall uncontrollably.

The coroner's inquest is expected to last through to next week.