Second Anglo mine shut down after gas concerns
Workers have been banned from going underground at a second Anglo American coal mine in central Queensland, after high gas levels signalled a potential spontaneous fire.
Workers have been banned from going underground at a second Anglo American coalmine in central Queensland, after high gas levels warned of a possible spontaneous fire.
Anglo’s Grosvenor mine, near Moranbah, has been shut down by safety authorities since a methane explosion on May 6 last year badly burned five miners.
Now the mining giant’s Moranbah North metallurgical coal operation has also been suspended by the Queensland Mines Inspectorate, after concerning carbon monoxide and ethylene gas levels were detected on Saturday night.
According to inspectorate documents seen by The Australian, the situation was classified by Anglo as a “spontaneous combustion trigger” and workers were evacuated at about 9pm. Workers on the coalface first reported a problem when they heard a bang and witnessed the ventilation reverse at about 6.45pm. Investigators are trying to discover if there was a fire underground, but have ruled out an explosion.
A spokesperson for Resources Safety and Health Queensland said that although the gas levels had since gone back to normal, Anglo American had “not yet identified the cause of the elevated levels and actions that will be taken to prevent a re-occurrence of this high-potential incident”.
“Under the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999, a mine’s site senior executive must investigate a high-potential incident to determine its causes and make recommendations to prevent (it) happening again,” they said.
“The Queensland Mines Inspectorate has issued a directive to the mine operator suspending all operations underground until the site senior executive can demonstrate that the risk is at an acceptable level for coalmine workers to return underground.”
An HPI is an event where something has gone wrong and injuries could have occurred but did not. These must be reported to the Mines Inspectorate.
An Anglo American spokeswoman said conditions underground were “normalising” in response to action being taken at the mine site. She said external and internal experts had been engaged to investigate what caused the elevated gas levels and what could be done to prevent it from happening again.
“At the time of the incident, we had been mining through some particularly challenging geology and every precaution was being taken,” the spokeswoman said. “The conclusions from the expert review of the incident will inform a comprehensive risk assessment prior to re-entry, which will require regulatory approval. The safety of our workforce remains our priority and we are keeping them closely informed.”
CFMEU district president Stephen Smyth said the mine workers were “deeply concerned” by the possible underground fire at Moranbah North.
“To have gases detected that indicate the presence of advanced heating, in an area of the mine that has high gas, is extremely concerning. Anglo should have processes in place to avoid ignition sources … that could lead to a possible explosion,” Mr Smyth said.
A board of inquiry established by the Queensland government- is investigating last year’s methane explosion at Grosvenor, as well other high-methane incidents at Anglo’s Grasstree and Moranbah North mines and Glencore’s Oaky North mine.
Anglo has applied to the government to re-enter Grosvenor.