Production still suspended at Moranbah North mine

Staff have been able to re-enter a major Bowen Basin mine shut since March after an underground explosion. LATEST

Moranbah North Mine was closed after an explosion last month. Picture: Supplied by Anglo American

A Moranbah mine has managed to establish an acceptable level of risk following an explosion that shut down production and put a $US3.8bn deal in jeopardy.

Resources Safety and Health Queensland changed their directive preventing crews entering Anglo American’s Moranbah North underground coal mine on Saturday after an underground explosion in late March.

An RSHQ spokeswoman said inspectors were satisfied the mine had established an acceptable level of risk to begin re-entering the mine.

Production was still suspended at the mine but deputies and essential maintenance personnel were now allowed to enter the mine to ensure standards underground were safe, she said.

The RSHQ spokeswoman said the watchdog would continue to work with the mine to ensure an acceptable level of risk was maintained.

Moranbah North operator Anglo American activated their action response plans on March 31 after detecting elevated carbon monoxide readings in the goaf and all staff were evacuated safely.

The explosion did not extend to the longwall face and goaf conditions “normalised shortly after the incident occurred and remain stable”.

An Anglo American spokeswoman said employees and embedded contractors would be paid as usual until further updates were available.

The spokeswoman said the company had completed its initial re-entry at Moranbah North Mine on Saturday, April 20, after receiving approvals from RSHQ and industry safety representatives following the incident on 31 March, 2025.

The re-entry activities began after a thorough assessment demonstrated the mine had established an acceptable level of risk to proceed, the spokeswoman said.

“Our sole focus is ensuring a safe working environment for our people. As part of this commitment, we continue to gather comprehensive data from this event and have established a collaborative forum as we progress with our investigation,” she said.

“We remain committed to working closely with RSHQ and ISHRs as we progress with the necessary steps towards a timeous, safe and structured return to longwall production.”

Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dale Last said it was a great first step for Anglo staff, under RSHQ supervision, to be able to re-enter the mine.

Anglo American Moranbah North mine. Picture Tara Miko

“Early days of course, going back underground to ensure that it is safe to re-enter and recommence mining operations,” Mr Last said.

“We’re hopeful of that mine reopening sooner rather than later.”

Mr Last confirmed operations had not restarted and crews were currently making sure the underground mine was safe with monitoring and gas testing taking place.

“When it comes to underground mining, the bar is set very, very high when it comes to safety,” he said.

“We’re not taking any second chances. If there is a likelihood of an incident, or an incident that has occurred in the case of Moranbah North, then that will be fully investigated and we take away the learnings from that.”

Since the incident occurred RSHQ inspectors have been on site assisting the operator to “understand the cause of the event and put relevant controls in place to ensure the safety of staff.”

The announcement that Moranbah North had established an acceptable level of risk to re-enter came just weeks after Peabody Energy announced it was reviewing all options related to its acquisition of steelmaking coal assets from Anglo in the wake of the explosion.

The future of the $US3.8bn ($6.34bn) deal remains unclear with a spokesperson from the company previously saying they remained in conversation with Anglo American to better understand the impacts of the event.

This publication has reached out to Peabody for comment.

The explosion occurred less than a year after an underground fire shut down the nearby Anglo American run Grosvenor mine and blanketed the nearby community in thick smoke caused by a methane ignition incident.

Grosvenor mine was also the site of an explosion in 2020 that left five workers suffering from horrific burns with a scathing Queensland Coal Mining Board of Inquiry report finding workers were repeatedly subjected to an “unacceptable level of risk” because senior management failed to reduce production rates where necessary.

Originally published as Production still suspended at Moranbah North mine