The owners of Tasmania’s Beaconsfield gold mine, scene of the dramatic 2006 rescue of two miners trapped by a rock fall, has lost its court battle with QBE for a $45.5 million claim.

Allstate Explorations, which co-owned and managed the mine at the time of the rock fall that also killed a miner, is claiming for business interruption arising from the collapse.

Allstate claimed a workplace inspector ordered a stop to all mining activity for two weeks after the rock collapse, and therefore the company should be able to claim for the losses.

The policy did not cover financial losses if the mine was closed by civil authorities, unless the closure was due to physical damage.

The Victorian Court of Appeal last week supported QBE’s denial of the claim, ruling that the closure was not due to physical damage.