A Queensland safety regulator has banned two former Peabody Energy workers from serving as underground mine managers over their role in a serious safety event that triggered a fire and lawsuits in the United States.

Unsafe levels of gas and excessive heat in the North Goonyella coking coal mine were revealed by The Australian Financial Review in September 2018 and ultimately led to an underground fire despite initial attempts by Peabody’s US management to downplay the risk.