The Queensland government, mining industry and unions will hold urgent crisis talks after six deaths in the state's resources sector this year.
The Queensland government, mining industry and unions will hold urgent crisis talks after six deaths in the state's resources sector this year.
A 27-year-old man died at the Baralaba North coal mine in central Queensland on Sunday, hours before another man was injured at a coal mine in the state’s north.
NRW Holdings confirmed that the 27-year-old man who died, who has not been named, was an employee of its subsidiary, Golding.
“To his family, friends and work mates — we extend our sincerest condolences,” NRW said in a statement.
“Golding is providing support to the man’s family.
"Operations at the mine have been halted until further notice, and all staff have been offered access to counselling services.
“Golding is working closely with the Queensland Police and the Mining Inspectorate who are conducting a full investigation into the accident.”
It was the sixth mining death in Queensland this year, the CFMEU said. Four of them were coal workers.
Queensland Mines Minister Anthony Lynham said the death and injury toll was unacceptable.
He has convened a meeting for Monday afternoon as a matter of urgency, to follow up on discussions last week with representatives of the mining industry, including the Queensland Resources Council, CFMEU and AWU.
“I am extremely distressed and concerned that there has been six mining and quarry worker deaths in the last 12 months,” Dr Lyneham said.
“I will be making it absolutely clear that this situation is unacceptable and requires action.”
Queensland Resources Council said it had stepped up communication around safety after the death of another man at Middlemount coal mine two weeks ago.
“Industry is working on measures for a safety reset, to refocus on safety, in light of the recent tragedies,” the QRC says.
CFMEU Queensland mining and energy president Steve Smyth said the mining industry should be shut down for at least 24 hours for a major reset.
“It means stopping every operation for a period of 24 hours, sitting down with your workers and engaging them around what’s going on with your mine site,” he said.
“I don’t know how many fatalities or major accidents we need to have before industry and the regulators take real action.
“It’s trending in a really, really concerning way.”
Mr Smyth called for company bosses not to haul workers over the coals if they spoke out over safety issues.
Just hours after the fatality at Baralaba North, a man fell about 10 metres from a platform at Glencore’s Collinsville coal mine.
“The employee was injured in a fall at the site’s coal washery,” Glencore says.
The Mines Inspectorate is investigating.
