* The Moura coal rail system was closed in 2011. Read the full report here.
“I don’t believe that we have learnt enough,” Greg says, even though the Moura No 2 explosion was the last explosion to rock the Queensland or New South Wales mining industries. It is among the largest and highest…, The Munali project, located about 70km south of Lusaka in southern Zambia, is the country’s premier nickel mine, beginning production…, Get important industry news and analysis sent to your inbox – sign up to our e-Newsletter here. That afternoon, mine deputy Mr Blyton became aware of the general trend in the atmosphere of the 512 Panel and in particular, that the area was indicated to enter the explosive range sometime between 11.30pm and midnight. Visitors to Anglo American metallurgical coal operations are required to complete this induction before they visit.
You must watch this entire video. “The Queensland Resources Council are saying that we don’t need as many statutory tickets, which was one of the main things to come out of Moura – having people who were trained and regularly retrained. It is recommended that all employees be effectively trained to recognise indicators of specific mine hazards, such as spontaneous combustion, and their control; and become sufficiently familiar with mine gases, and associated risks. * The Moura Post Office was opened in 1939. Shift undermanager Michael Squires told the Inquiry he did not recall several warnings of possible heating in the mine. In total there were a significant number of reports of ‘smells’ from the 512 Panel during its life, some as early as June, and these proved to be fleeting. In 1994, the lives of eleven men were lost in the Moura No. "You never ever forget these things," he said. This proposed line would be well east of Taroom , and pass close to the gold mining town of Cracow . Rescue and recovery attempts were thereafter abandoned and the mine sealed at the surface. 2 mine disaster found that the first explosion originated in a sealed mine panel (a block section of the mine) and resulted from a failure to recognise, and effectively treat, a heating of coal in that panel. “Some of those people actually knew when it was going to go into explosion range, yet they let those blokes go underground. Wagners were also able to provide Anglo Coal with solutions for coal processing i.e.
“Ultimately, there was failure to withdraw persons from the mine while the potential existed for an explosion,” the Inquiry says. Mr Caddell said he told undermanager Michael Squires of his concerns, leading to the early sealing. “When the Inquiry recommendations got handed down, to go back and tell the families that nothing was going to happen to anyone that didn’t make the right decisions was pretty tough,” Mr Dalliston says. Located at 33 Gillespie Street and open from 9.00 am - 2.00 pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays, the Moura Coal and Country Museum has a large photographic display and rooms which focus on local industries including coal mining, cotton, cattle, diary and grain growing. Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
The Inquiry recommends that the Act be amended to enable either proxy or alternative members to fill temporary or permanent positions on the panel or for an Inquiry to continue with a reduced number of panel members. It is further recommended that funds be made available through the government in order to obtain such a system, such that equipment for the inertisation of a coal mine or parts of a mine, with appropriately trained people and operating systems, be readily available for use. It was also heard the 400m-long 512 Panel had only one gas monitor, placed 20m in from the seals.
These included a failure to prevent the development of a heating within the 512 Panel; a failure to acknowledge the presence of that heating; a failure to effectively communicate and capture and evaluate numerous tell-tale signs over an extended period; and a failure to treat the heating or to identify the potential impact of sealing with the panel consequently passing into an explosive range due to the methane gas accumulating in the panel. Seeing the Mines There is a point on the Dawson Highway, on the road to Banana, where there are two rocks marking (exactly) the 150° Meridian as it crossed the highway. All persons holding statutory appointments must undertake training in communications, and completion of a retraining course each year. It is recommended that the research which has been previously undertaken by the committee which was instigated as a result of the Moura 1986 Inquiry be evaluated as soon as possible in order to determine the most appropriate method of inertisation for Queensland coal mines. It is recommended that a representative industry working party to be convened by the Chief Inspector of Coal Mines and that group be charged with the development of guidelines for the industry covering life support for escape. “We should have been told,” Mr Young said.
It doesn’t matter which one their family was lost in or involved in, they all feel the same, they all feel the loss,” Greg says. Eleven years later on July 16, 1986, 12 miners were killed at Moura No 4 Mine after an explosion. The inquiry in the Moura No.
The duration of the project saw over 5.4 million tonnes of coal hauled to the rail head, with, at the peak, over 130,000 tonnes of coal hauled per week. This required to coordination of up to 19 triple road trains, involving Wagners Transport fleet and that of sub-contractors. * By the 1970s over 1,000 people were working in the mines.
The Inquiry recommends that the minimum requirements provide for: the continuous and effective sampling and monitoring of the atmosphere in a sealed area; means whereby the pressure difference between the inside and outside surfaces of seals can be measured; the effective ventilation of the outside surfaces of seals; and regular inspection and periodic auditing on the long term performance of seals and sealed areas. Two days later, on August 9, a second, more violent, explosion shook the mine at 12.20pm. He also said he didn’t recall an earlier phone call in June from another deputy who reported a tarry smell.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. It is recommended that all mines be required to develop and implement a spontaneous combustion management plan along the lines outlined to provide effective long term control of that risk and which satisfies any requirements of the Chief Inspector of Coal Mines as a condition for the continued operation of the mine. It incorporates several earlier coal-mining operations in the area, including the Moura mine. “My ears popped pretty painfully. “Everyone puts their hand on their heart and says that all the recommendations from Moura report have been put into place,” he says. In 2019, the Dawson mine produced 3.9Mt of metallurgical coal. The mining town was no stranger to tragedy, with two other explosions shaking the community. There is considerable debate about the origin of the town's name although it is known that it was taken from the Moura pastoral run which was established in the area in 1857. The Inquiry said Mr Mason’s reply, in essence, was that if no one else raised a concern then neither should Squires and that if anyone elected to not go down the mine then they should not be forced to do so. The Dawson Complex is located 185km south-west of the Queensland port of Gladstone, Australia. %PDF-1.4 %���� “Those people knew what was happening, if we knew all that now, what we found out 18 months after the Inquiry sat, then I think we should have been asking for some prosecutions because they knew what they were doing and sent people down there, and they got killed.”. Dawson North has an identified coal resource of 34Mt, with the potential for an additional 20Mt and will produce 2.1Mtpa of saleable high-quality metallurgical coal. Primary coal loading equipment is a fleet of six Cat 992C wheel loaders, equipped with 20t-capacity buckets that work with seven 135t Cat 776 bottom-dump hauliers and one 160t Cat 776C machine.