Sojitz Gregory Crinum mine fatality the 19th death in 14 years at CQ mines and quarries

In the space of 14 years there have been 19 deaths at Central Queensland mines - and more than half of them have been in the last five years. So what are authorities doing to stop the terrible human toll?

In the space of 14 years there have been 19 deaths at Central Queensland mines - and more than half of them have been in the last five years.

Since 2016, 11 deaths have been recorded on the work sites plus countless accidents where workers have sustained injuries.

In just one year, from July 2018 to July 2019, there was six recorded deaths.

The most recent was reported just after midnight on Wednesday September 15 at Sojitz Gregory Crinum mine near Emerald.

Miners were undertaking roof support works as part of maintenance work to prepare the mine for production.

The underground mine collapsed as a section of the wall and ceiling fell.

A 60-year-old man was assessed for critical injuries however was declared deceased at the scene.

A second person, a 25-year-old man, was trapped underground for more than four hours before emergency services were able to retrieve him.

He sustained crush injuries to his legs and pelvis and flown to Rockhampton Hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

A third person was taken to Emerald Hospital following a medical episode and has since been released.

Underground mines remain the biggest danger. There are 13 underground coal mines and 93 underground metalliferous mines in Queensland.

Miners and locals say the rise in mines and quarries deaths are due to mining company cutting costs, using labour hire contracting companies and just doing things generally the “cheap way”.

A review by Dr Sean Brady of the fatal accidents in Queensland mines and quarries from 2000 to 2019, published in December 2019, looked at 47 deaths across the state in the 19 years.

Daunia Mine box cut one. Photo Kelly Butterworth / CQ News

“Mining is a hazardous industry, but that doesn’t mean that workers and their families must continue to suffer the consequences of these hazards,” Mr Brady wrote.

Looking at all of the deaths as a whole, Mr Brady stated most of them were not freak accidents - many were preventable and not caused by one significant factor.

A huge chunk of the fatalities found the mine worker was in a situation they were not appropriately trained for and the control to prevent harm ineffective, unenforced or absent, or a lack of adequate supervision.

“Almost all of the fatalities were the result of systemic, organisational, supervision or training failures, either with or without the presence of human error,” Mr Brady wrote.

“Human error alone would not have caused these fatalities.

Of the 47 deaths, 17 involved no human error at all, 17 involved a lack of training, 10 involved faults people were aware of but had not fixed and nine fatalities were in situations where near-misses had happened prior to the death. In some cases, it wasn’t the first time a death had happened in a similar way.

The majority involved at least one failed or absent control that could have prevented the death.

As of June 2019, there were a total of 53,084 people employed in the resources industry, split into 37,290 in coal mining, 14,043 and 1,760 in quarries.

The report detailed the main issues raised by those in the industry.

These includes too much paperwork - while some paperwork is clearly necessary, the “sheer amount” results in managers spending more time at their desk than out in the field.

More new and inexperienced people are entering the industry and are being trained by people who are just as inexperienced.

Mental health is also a big factor, with the pressure FIFO work put on families and the miners.

Some believe contractors don’t work as safely as employees.

Gatton man Connor Milne was killed in a workplace accident in 2018.

Mr Brady made 11 recommendations to the Queensland Government.

In May 2020, new laws were passed that sees mine executives face up to 20 years in jail if a worker dies because of their criminal negligence.

The new laws were part of strict tough new mine safety and industrial manslaughter laws passed in Queensland parliament.

Queensland mineral mine and quarry workers also now have access to free lung health checks for life.

The new state government program began in September 2020.

RECORDED DEATHS IN CENTRAL QUEENSLAND MINES AND QUARRIES

- Sept 15, 2021: 60 year-old worker was killed when he was working on roof supports and was hit by falling rock at the Sojitz Crinum Gregory Mine near Emerald.

- Jan 12, 2020: Donald Rabbitt, 33, died at Curragh coalmine near Blackwater when he was crushed by a low-loader while changing a tyre.

- Nov 25, 2019: Brad Duxbury, 57 died at Carborough Downs coalmine at Coppabella.

- July 7, 2019: Jack Gerdes, 27, was killed at the Baralaba North Coal Mine when he became entangled in stairs while working on machinery.

- June 26, 2019: David Routledge was operating a digger on a shelf inside the mine when the wall collapsed onto the machine about 12.40pm, trapping him, at Middlemount Coal Mine. Crews were unable to reach him for more than seven hours, due to the unstable and unsafe scene. When they reached him, he was declared deceased.

- February 2, 2019: Bradley Hardwick was killed at Anglo American’s Moranbah North mine when two pieces of machinery collided underground.

- December 31, 2018: Allan Houston was fatally injured when his bulldozer overturned at BMA’s Saraji Open Cut Coal Mine near Moranbah.

- November 15, 2018: Connor-Shaye Milne, 21, was killed when he became entangled in the rotating tail drum of a conveyor belt at a site off the Peak Downs Highway at Wolfang, near Clermont.

- July 29, 2018: Adam Malone, 25, was operating a dump truck when it rolled over at a quarry near Collinsville.

- August 5, 2017: Daniel Springer was fatally injured while carrying out repairs on a large excavator bucket. He was contractor with independent Mining Services at BMA’s Goonyella Riverside Mine.

- August 30, 2016: Ian Hansen was fatally injured by a falling deck plate that he and other workers were removing at Glencore’s Newlands Mine Coal Handling and Preparation Plant.

- March 12, 2015: Laurie Donovan died after a vehicle rolled at BMA’s Blackwater Mine

- February 16, 2015: Stephen Cave died when a tyre on a large mining truck exploded at Anglo American’s Dawson Coal Mine southeast of Moura.

- December 11, 2014: Ian Downes was crushed when a wall collapsed at Anglo American’s underground Grasstree Coal Mine near Middlemount.

- May 6, 2014: Paul McGuire was asphyxiated by a noxious atmosphere in Anglo Coal’s Grasstree mine.

- June 5, 2012: Sean Scovell died after becoming trapped in a conveyor belt at Moranbah South Quarry, operated by MCG Quarries.

- December 18, 2010: Wayne McDonald died after a tyre catastrophically failed causing an explosion at Foxleigh Open Cut Coal Mine near Middlemount.

- June 20, 2009: John Barker died when the ute he was driving collided with a piece of heavy machinery at BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance’s open cut Blackwater Mine.

- April 9, 2007: Jason Blee died after being pinned by a shuttle car against the mine wall at Anglo American’s Moranbah North Coal Mine.

Read more here.