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Investigation under way after mine mishap

A loader lodged in the crusher at the Norton Gold Fields site, 35km north-west of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Safety inspectors from the Department of Mines and Petroleum are investigating a workplace incident at the Paddington mill, 35km north-west of Kalgoorlie- Boulder.

No workers were injured when a loader became lodged in the crusher at the Norton Gold Fields site.

The crusher is a large machine which breaks down rocks to more manageable sizes in the mining process before gold is extracted chemically from the ore.

The loader's bucket was stuck inside the crusher, but removed yesterday.

DMP mine safety director Andrew Chaplyn said crushing operations at the site were suspended.

Norton managing director Dianmin Chen said an internal investigation was under way and the crusher was being checked for structural damage before normal operations would resume.

Dr Chen said there would be no effect on production because the plant had extensive ore stockpiles.

Meanwhile, Norton's stake in Bullabulling Gold grew to 18.8 per cent yesterday after the miner upped its hostile takeover bid on Monday.

The Brett Lambert-run Bullabulling has held the offer is opportunistic since Norton debuted its surprise bid on April 17.

On Monday, Norton lifted its cash bid 14 per cent to $28 million, though the extra cash is contingent on Norton reaching 30 per cent or more by June 30.