Anglo American to pay Grosvenor workers until end of August as mine burns

In an effort to quickly redeploy the 1400 miners out of a job at Grosvenor the company is teaming up with the unions and competition to place them in other mines.

An ignition event at the Anglo American Grosvenor mine in Central Queensland has shut down production. Picture: Supplied

The 1400-odd miners out of work since Grosvenor went up in flames have had a crucial lifeline extended as Anglo American committed to paying their wages until the end of August.

A methane ignition sparked a fire in the belly of the Bowen Basin coal mine on Saturday, which has been burning since despite the deployment of a jet engine to choke out oxygen underground.

A joint statement from Anglo American, Isaac Regional Council, Mining & Energy Union, Electrical Trades Union, Collieries Staff and Officials Association and Australian Manufacturing Workers Union noted the ‘significant’ progress in the ‘temporary’ sealing of Grosvenor Mine.
While it remains unclear if the mine will ever reopen, the groups are also working together to potentially redeploy staff to other nearby mines, or NSW mines.

Grosvenor Mine restarting operations after a methane explosion injured five workers in 2020. Picture: Anglo American

“We will also continue to collaborate with industry peers to prioritise employment opportunities for impacted employees and contractors across the Bowen Basin and NSW (working with the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), Minerals Council of NSW, and Queensland Resources Council (QRC) over the coming weeks,” the statement reads.

Anglo American Australia CEO Daniel van der Westhuizen confirmed the financial support will be extended a second time — it was previously due to expire on July 7, then 15, and will now run until September.

“This demonstrates our commitment to providing ongoing certainty for our workers while we ensure the mine is safe and stable,” he said.

“This commitment has been made possible due to our strong relationships with our unions and our industry-first working group.”

The pay promise covers employees, embedded contractors working full time at the mine in operations or staff roles.

Remote Control Dozer operator Wes Sann. Anglo American is trialling new technology involving a remote-controlled stockpile dozer ahead of plans to retro-fit the entire fleet.

“Within this time, we will be able to understand the ongoing permanent workforce requirements at Grosvenor Mine and the potential internal redeployment opportunities available at other Anglo American operations, including the open-cut operations and/or Brisbane corporate office,” the statement reads.

Burdekin MP Dale Last said it was welcome news for the wider community.

“Once we knew all people on site were safe, my priority turned to ensuring workers were supported and that, if the mine were to close, jobs were found for the affected workers,” Mr Last said.

“I welcome the announcement today from Anglo American that they are extending direct financial support to their Grosvenor workforce until the end of August and that the industry will prioritise affected workers in their employment processes.”

“This heralds a new era in collaboration and highlights how important it is that we retain and support our workers in the resource sector.”

“While steps toward ensuring jobs for affected workers are now underway, it is vital that we get to the bottom of what caused this incident. The investigation process is essential to ensure that we learn from the incident with a goal to continuously improve the safety of Queensland’s mines.”

Originally published as Anglo American to pay Grosvenor workers until end of August as mine burns