The real cause of the explosion that rocked Grosvenor mine and severely injured five underground coal miners on 6 May must be fully understood before solutions are proposed, the Miners’ Union said today.
Initial findings released by Anglo American into the event have not addressed key questions about gas levels in the lead up to the explosion, adequacy of ventilation and the source of ignition, said CFMEU Mining and Energy Queensland President Stephen Smyth.
“It is a distraction for Anglo American to put forward proposals about technical fixes when we still don’t understand what caused the event.
“It is critical that all evidence is gathered before the mine is sealed.
“The whole underground mining community deserves to know whether unsafe conditions were being tolerated at Grosvenor in the lead-up to the May 6 explosion.
“As the largest underground coal mine operator in Queensland, the question of safety culture and standards at Anglo operations is critical.
“We will only understand that by careful examination of conditions in the weeks and months leading up to the explosion.
“On the anniversary of the tragic underground explosion at Moura No 4 mine in 1986, killing 12 coal miners, we must commit ourselves as an industry to learning every possible lesson from this event to help protect coal miners’ lives into the future.”
