Miners injured in horrific Grosvenor mine explosion remembered a year on

A year ago today, every underground miner’s worst nightmare became a reality when an explosion at a Moranbah mine rocked the industry to its core. A Gympie man was one of five seriously injured.

An aerial image of Anglo American's Grosvenor Mine, where an explosion on May 6, 2020, left five miners with horrific burns. Picture: Daryl Wright

A year ago today, every underground miner and their families’ worst nightmare became a reality when an explosion at the Grosvenor mine in Central Queensland rocked the industry to its core.

A Gympie man was believed to be one of five miners who suffered horrific burns injuries during the underground explosion at the Anglo American-owned mine near Moranbah.

Twelve months on, shockwaves from the May 6 2020 Grosvenor mine disaster are still being felt as miners pause and reflect on the injured workers and their families, whose lives will never be the same again.

CFMEU Mining and Energy Queensland District President Stephen Smyth issued a statement on Thursday on the first anniversary of the horrific Grosvenor mine explosion near Mackay that left a Gympie man and four other miners with critical injuries.

“I still get chills when I think about getting the news about the explosion at Grosvenor. An underground explosion is every underground miner’s worst nightmare,” Mr Smyth said.

“One year on, our thoughts are very much with the miners injured in the blast at the longwall.

“As one of the injured workers Wayne Sellars put it – “It was like standing in a blowtorch.”

The entry to Grosvenor Mine, near Moranbah. Picture: Daryl Wright

These workers and their families have a long road to recovery ahead.

I’d also like to acknowledge the workforce at Grosvenor, who have completed the re-entry to the mine and are in the process of addressing hazards and preparing the mine to restart production.

They have been through a tough year and the crews have done a tremendous job on the re-entry.

There is still much to do to uncover the lessons of 6 May 2020, to hold Anglo to account and to implement changes across industry – and we are fully committed to this work.

But today’s anniversary is about acknowledging the workers at Grosvenor: their courage, perseverance and the risks they face doing the important work they do.

They have the full support of their union.”

Injured coal miner Wayne Sellars, badly burned in the explosion at the Grosvenor mine at Moranbah on May 6 2020, arrives to give evidence at the coal mining board of inquiry, Brisbane 7th of April 2021. (Image/Josh Woning)

The May 6 disaster was also the catalyst for the Queensland Coal Mining Board of Inquiry, which explored high potential incidents of methane exceedances that occurred at Grosvenor mine between July 1, 2019 and May 5, 2020 as well as the May 6 blast.

Since the hearings launched on March 9, the board heard evidence from 15 witnesses including mining inspectors from Resources Safety and Health Queensland, industry experts and injured coal mine worker Wayne Sellars.

Last month, an inquiry spokeswoman said the board was currently finalising its investigation and writing part two of its report.

She said this document would be provided to Mines Minister Scott Stewart on May 31, but it would be up to Mr Stewart on whether it was released to the public.

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