The contractor at the Wolverine Mine where a worker died has been fined the same amount the mine's owner was.

On Tuesday, territorial Judge John Faulkner fined Procon Mining and Tunnelling $150,000. That's the highest amount possible under the territory's Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Both Procon and the mine's owner, Yukon Zinc Corp., pleaded guilty earlier this month to charges related to the 2010 tunnel collapse which killed 25-year-old Will Fisher.

Yukon Zinc agreed to pay the maximum fine.

Procon argued that its employees were just following instructions from the mine owner, and should not be held as responsible.

Faulkner disagreed.

In his ruling Tuesday, the judge said Procon was well aware of the nature of the Wolverine Mine.

He pointed to three other rock falls that occurred in the six months before Fisher was crushed beneath 70 tonnes of rock and suffocated.

Fisher, a mechanic working for Procon, died the morning of April 25, 2010, about 190 km northwest of Watson Lake.

His body was recovered 10 hours later.

Fisher and two other employees were servicing a rock bolter, equipment used to install support in the walls and ceiling of the underground mine.

The two other employees were not seriously hurt.

An expert brought in after Fisher's death concluded the collapse was caused by inadequate ground support, given that the tunnel had been widened and dug out.

In his decision, Faulkner said it is not enough for Procon to say it was just following orders, especially when it comes to the safety of its employees.

Procon was aware there was no ground support plan at the mine. It also knew there was no geotechnical support available, he said.

At the time of Fisher's death, any support in the tunnels was being installed based on a single-page diagram, as well as an unwritten understanding that individual miners could install additional support if they felt it was needed.

With the exception of a report written a month before Fisher's death, there is no evidence Procon did anything about these problems, the judge said.

In February 2010, Procon forwarded a report to Yukon Zinc recommending a ground support plan.

When Fisher died, nothing had been done about this report, the judge said.

Procon had been onsite since April 2009.

The inadequacies at the mine should have been evident to Procon, Faulkner ruled.

This is not the first time an employee has died at the mine.

Six months before Fisher's death, 20-year-old Paul Wentzell, an apprentice mechanic with Procon, was crushed by a driverless Toyota Land Cruiser.

Procon pleaded guilty to two charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and was fined nearly $100,000.

The company can no longer appear before the court with an unblemished safety record, the judge said.

Faulkner also disagreed with Procon's claims that improvements at the mine should be taken into account.

After Fisher's death, the company spent more than $1 million to improve its safety program, the court heard.

Those changes could also have applied to Yukon Zinc, the judge said, and yet that company was still fined the maximum amount.

Procon has been given two months to pay the fine.