Anglo Coal conviction set aside after Bradley Hardwick Moranbah North mine death tragedy

A global mining giant has had a conviction stemming from the horror crush death of a father of two at one of its flagship Queensland underground sites set aside.

Anglo American Moranbah North Mine. Picture: Tara Miko

A conviction against a mining giant stemming from the horrific crush death of a father of two has been set aside after a higher court found the presiding magistrate made critical errors.

Bradley Hardwick was killed when he was struck by a runaway grader he had been operating at Moranbah North after its braking system failed on February 20, 2019.

The 47-year-old had stopped the 14.84-tonne grader on a travel road in the mine’s drift and stepped off the machine, when it rolled tragically striking and crushing the father of two before also colliding with a drift runner carrying a number of other workers.

Mine operator Anglo Coal – Moranbah North Management was charged with failing to discharge its health and safety obligation causing death or grievous bodily harm, to which it pleaded not guilty in the Industrial Magistrates Court in 2023.

Presiding magistrate Michael Quinn had found Anglo not guilty of causing Mr Hardwick’s death but guilty of breaching the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act causing bodily harm in relation to injuries caused to workers in the driftrunner.

Anglo has appealed the conviction arguing its brake testing procedures were appropriate and following industry standards, and that the manufacturer failed to disclose critical information about a hidden design flaw in the grader’s braking system.

Bradley Hardwick died in a mining incident at Moranbah North mine in 2019.

In written submissions Anglo argued, “The issues that arose on 20 February 2019 in relation to the Grader’s brakes were as a result of design flaws which were solely within the knowledge of the OEM and who had both contractual and statutory obligations to inform Anglo Coal of such flaws and failed to do so.”

This line of argument was also mentioned during the seven-day hearing in 2023.

In a recent judgment Industrial Court of Queensland President Justice Peter Davis rejected Anglo’s submissions about brake testing procedures, and found the only issue was whether the incident was “due to causes over which Anglo had no control”.
“The Industrial Magistrate wrongly concluded, it seems, that the evidence of the interactions between the manufacturer and Anglo was irrelevant,” Justice Davis said.

“He has not considered the interactions between Anglo and the manufacturer as potentially being causes of the commission of the offence and he has not then considered whether those causes are ones over which Anglo had no control.

The Hardwick family – Lisa, Bradley, Cooper and Isabella.

“Findings were made and conclusions were drawn by the Industrial Magistrate against the backdrop of a misunderstanding of critical aspects of the scheme of the legislation.”

Justice Davis set aside the conviction.

“The real issue was whether the commission of the offence was due to causes over which Anglo had no control. That remains the issue,” Justice Davis said.

Submissions will now be made on what should happen next which could include the case going before another industrial magistrate for a new trial or the higher court making a final determination.

This comes as the global giant is in the final stages of preparation to re-enter its Grosvenor mine after an explosion event 12 months ago in June 2024.

Work was still ongoing to remove materials like dirt from below ground, with the approach also including new ways of using SLAM LiDAR technology to map the underground workings from the surface.

Grosvenor mine general manager Shane McDowall said it was a significant milestone “in our recovery journey and a testament to safety, innovation and teamwork”.

Originally published as Anglo Coal conviction set aside after Bradley Hardwick Moranbah North mine death tragedy