Another gas explosion at a Queensland coal mine

A gas explosion at the 3.5mn t/yr Carborough Downs coking coal mine in Australia's Queensland state has led to the closure of an area of the mine while the mines inspector investigates, as safety concerns rise across the industry.

The methane ignition occurred on 10 July and was extinguished by workers. A spate of mine accidents in Queensland's coal industry, including a fatal incident at the Carborough Downs mine late last year, has increased oversight by the state government.

A gas explosion at UK-South African firm Anglo American's 5mn t/yr Grosvenor coking coal mine in May put five workers in hospital with severe injuries and heightened concerns about these kinds of incidents. The state government is concerned about the rising number of methane ignitions in underground mines as older operations move to deeper sections of the deposit. This concerned is exacerbated by the low-price environment for Queensland coals, which is leading most producers to focus on cost cutting to try to stay profitable.

Carborough Downs' owner, Australian mining firm Fitzroy Australian Resources, has already suspended board and pillar mining at the mine, with the loss of 160 jobs because of the low-price environment related to the Covid-19 economic slowdown. The closure of the portion of the mine where it was planning to develop a longwall for future mining will only add to the pressures on the firm. It is unclear when the inspectorate will be finished with its investigation.

Carborough Downs supplies second-tier hard coking coal and pulverised coal injection (PCI) mostly to Japan and China.

Fitzroy, a subsidiary of US investment group AMCI, bought Carborough Downs from Brazilian mining firm Vale in 2016.

By Jo Clarke