Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan has been ordered to pay $420,000 for its role in the death of a worker in Lanigan, Sask.

The company pleaded guilty in a Humboldt court Monday to violating provincial occupational health and safety rules when Robert Tkach was killed on the job at a potash mine in September 2008.

Tkach, 60, was driving a Jeep underground when he went off an unmarked ledge and was crushed beneath the vehicle.

The company pleaded guilty to a single count of failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all the employer's workers.

Originally, the company faced five charges, and a supervisor faced one charge. With the guilty plea from the company, the Crown stayed five charges, including the one against the supervisor.

The company has agreed to pay a fine of $300,000 — the maximum allowable under the Occupational Health and Safety Act — as well as a victim surcharge of $120,000.

The court heard victim impact statements from family members devastated by Tkach's death. Some said they were upset with how the company behaved after the accident, saying an apology was never offered.

Garth Moore, president of the company's potash division, says the company takes worker safety seriously but is not perfect.

"We've got a lot of changes to make and things'll get better," he said. "But until we have a zero incident frequency rate, we got work to do."

Tkach's widow, Sylvia Tkach, said she doesn't believe the company is truly sorry about what happened.

"I don't take them seriously," she said. "They are just trying to make this go away. So the fact they are taking complete responsibility, they're just trying to get this over with."

Lanigan is 125 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon.