Josh Jones was an apprentice at Dawson South when his best mate was killed on the job, and he was severely injured. Nine years later, Josh has found the courage to talk about what happened to help other miners be safer at work.

Josh started his apprenticeship in 2012 and was sent to a different site every 12 months across NSW and QLD before ending up at Dawson South in 2014.

“Leading up to the accident I was in my fourth year of my apprenticeship. We were on nightshift and asked to change a tyre on a water truck, something I hadn’t done before.

“Looking back now I would never have thought in a million years that it would snowball into what happened.

“It was the last part of the job when tragedy struck. We had finished changing the tyre, put it back on the truck and we were doing the final tighten of the wheel nuts when out of nowhere the rim assembly failed and blew the tyre off striking myself and killing Stephen instantly. The damage I sustained to my arm resulted in the amputation a couple of weeks later.”

The incident report released later found the lock ring of the multi-piece rim had come out of the lock ring retention groove, allowing the sudden pressure release of the tyre. This caused the tyre, parts of the multi-piece rim assembly and tooling, to be ejected off the rim base striking both workers.

“It’s very much like being hit by a truck. The force in those tyres is astronomical,” explained Josh.

“I didn’t notice the pain instantly; I knew where my mate was, and my instant thought was to get up and go to where he was and that’s when I realised my injury. I thought I was going to bleed out there and then.

“It’s awful, you’re involved in an incident that means your mate isn’t going home to his family. It’s the absolute worst thing to happen on a mine site.”

Nine years later, Josh is determined to share his story so incidents like what he was involved in don’t happen again.

“Mine sites aren’t dangerous, they’re hazardous. The danger side creeps in through inexperience, lack of adequate processes and procedures, incompetent people working on jobs, or people just being in the wrong mindset.

“I promised myself and my family that I would never go back out onto a mine site ever again. Why go back to where you lost your best mate and nearly lost your life? But I kept seeing stories about near misses and accidents and I thought if I can try and do something, I will.”

That’s when Josh decided he wanted to share his story.

“The main reason I’m doing it is for the benefit of others. It’s quite uncomfortable going out to a mine site, but I am really enjoying it because it is quite rewarding.”

Josh has been going out to mine sites for over 12 months now, sharing his story and encouraging everyone to look after themselves so they can be as safe as possible.

“It still took me more than three years to pluck up the courage, I don’t think you’re ever ready, you just have to take the leap and do it, so I did it last year with Theiss.

“I spent months and months trying to prepare for that moment but as soon as I got up and started speaking, I couldn’t read any of my notes, I was shaking like a leaf. I was literally standing there like a deer in headlights and started yapping away. It came across okay; they could see the raw emotion and how much of a big deal it was for me to be there.”

There are three main things Josh wants to get across to the workers. First is that accidents can happen to anyone, secondly workers needing to be upskilled and thirdly mental health and how important it is to keep that in check.

“Unfortunately, everyone’s memories are too short term after an incident. The same things just keep happening which is so frustrating. It’s still that element of complacency and lack of experience and lack of realising an accident can happen to anyone.

“That’s exactly what I thought when I was young,” said Josh.

“We need to upskill our workers and get them mentally prepared for mine site work. It’s a different environment, you’re away from your family, you miss out on big events and time with your kids. It’s the stuff people underestimate because all you think of as a FIFO worker to start with is the big wage. The money isn’t the be all and end all if you’re not prepared for the other side of things. There’s no money that is worth the cost of my mental health or physical health.

“Mental health is the biggest thing I want to get across. Thankfully the stigma seems to be coming down day by day but there are still a lot of people out there who aren’t addressing their issues.

“When you aren’t addressing those mental health concerns, you’re not concentrating, you’re away with the fairies because you’re off in your own thoughts.

“There’s also that element of overcoming adversity. Yes, something horrible has happened to me, but there are still so many good things about life. I’m not taking things for granted and I never used to live life to the fullest but now that’s what I try and do every day.”

Josh has been going out to mine sites as the One Arm Bandit. He said it’s an intense story, but you still have to be able to laugh.

“Laughter is the best medicine. I get a huge kick out of putting a smile on people’s faces, so I try to do that while still giving an intense talk. I try to make it lighter which I think cuts through to people easier as well.”

Speaking at mine sites is Josh’s side hustle. His full-time job is being a partner in a commercial real estate business in Brisbane.

“I moved to Brisbane in 2016 and to try and meet people I joined the local football team. I had no confidence, I was drinking more to get confident, so I needed to find something good for me to meet people. Two of the lads took me under their real estate wing and here we are!

“About a year after the accident I started playing golf as another form of rehab to get out and about and then I realised it was an amazing mental escape for me.

“It gave me something to focus on. I travel around Australia and play at a very high level of disability golf so the goal for me is to set up my own tournament bringing all the mines together.”

To get in touch with Josh or his One Arm Bandit talks: info@oabsafe.com or www.oabsafe.com.au And follow his journey on Instagram @josh_oab