‘It’s a dangerous job, but it shouldn’t cost your life’: Wade Rothery

Anglo American has been accused of putting production ahead of safety at its Grosvenor mine, which exploded in May.

Wade Rothery with wife Connie and children Hugo and Isla. Picture: Steve Vit

Former coalminer Wade Rothery felt as if his heart had stopped when he heard about the explosion at Anglo American’s Grosvenor mine.

The five men left with life-threatening burns had been his underground crew at Grosvenor. If Mr Rothery hadn’t been injured and off work that day, it’s likely he would have been working with his old colleagues when they were caught in the blast on May 6.

“It’s a dangerous job, but it shouldn’t cost your life,” he said.

The former professional rugby league footballer started working at Grosvenor in 2016, when Anglo American first began longwall mining of metallurgical coal, used to make steel.

He said methane was a constant problem at the mine, and gas monitors were everywhere, ­including on the shearer he used to cut coal. When methane hit 2 per cent, it automatically tripped the power to the shearer. When it hit 2.5 per cent, workers had to be evac­uated.

Mr Rothery said he believed the explosion had been caused by a build-up of methane, which was released as the crew shifted pieces of equipment called chocks, and rocks crashed against rocks causing a spark.

He said his former underground crew had done nothing wrong, and the explosion would have been difficult for the mine to prevent.

But he said Anglo American had a history of putting coal production ahead of safety at Grosvenor, and a track record of methane problems.

Mr Rothery recalled occasions where he was cutting coal with the shearer and it would trip the power because of high methane levels.

“You get a phone call underground saying ‘Get it started, I don’t care what it takes, do something about it’,” he said.

“Everything is about KPIs … If you talk to the mine, they say it’s safety-first, but I can guarantee you, it’s not safety-first.

“The message is ‘Do it as safe as you can, but don’t stop cutting coal’.”

Mr Rothery said part of the problem was Anglo relying on an entirely contractor-based workforce.

“At least one person I can think of — he spoke up about safety, and he wasn’t there the next week.”

Mr Rothery said his thumb was severed in an underground accident with the chocks in February 2017, and the equipment was re­designed soon after.

When he returned to work, he was injured again in January 2019, suffering crushed vertebrae in his neck. Doctors say he will not be able to work underground again.

Mr Rothery said it seemed as if an injury — or worse — had to occur before the company would change its practices.

He is now standing as a One Nation candidate for the central Queensland seat of Keppel in the October state election.

Mr Rothery said he would push for mine safety reforms if elected, including increasing the number of workers trained in mine rescue.

A spokeswoman for Anglo American declined to respond to Mr Rothery’s statements, but said safety was a core value for the company and always came first.