07:59 pm, Sunday 15 January, 2012

Central Queensland University has announced it is about to carry out research into fatigue issues in the mining industry.

The University’s research unit will consider issues such as shift work and fly-in, fly-out workforces.

“One of our new programs is accident forensics which is looking at why accidents in mines, in railways and even air crash investigations, why those crashes happen,” said Vice-chancellor professor Scott Bowman.

“So this group will be linking in with the group that we’ve got working already here in central Queensland.

“Looking at things like the impact of shift systems, the impact of fly-in, fly-out, looking at the impact of fatigue in the workplace, on workplace health and safety and they really are the go-to group in the area.

“So as you can imagine a lot of the mines and the heavy industry in central Queensland go to that group.”

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11:30 am, Friday 2 September, 2011

The employee, aged 48, fell heavily onto his left arm while working as a fitter in the mechanical workshop at the North Goonyella Mine site in August 2006.

A small hook on a low-slung chain in a doorway chain became caught in his clothing as he tried to step over it, causing him to trip and fall to the ground.

He suffered serious injury to his shoulder, which will require a joint replacement in the future.

Mr Hughes sued the mine and his engineering company employer for economic loss and medical costs.

He was awarded $550,128 in damages.

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01:12 pm, Thursday 18 August, 2011

The worker was fatally injured at a workshop at the Brockman 2 mine about 60km north-west of Tom Price.

The man died after he became trapped in machinery.

He had been changing a hydraulic cylinder on a front-end loader when the accident happened

Operations at the mine and the adjacent Nammuldi mine have been suspended.

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09:02 am, Saturday 14 August, 2010

Mine rescue teams from across the country flocked to Bendigo last week to participate the Annual Victorian Underground Mine Rescue Competition.

The WorkSafe-sponsored competition is now in its 18th year. The Northgate Stawell Gold Mine Emergency Rescue Team was declared the overall winner.

According to WorkSafe’s Hazard Management Division Acting Director Rod Gunn, emergency response processes in the mining industry are critical.

“Mining is intrinsically dangerous work – workers are underground, they’re isolated, and often they’re working with heavy machinery,” he said.

“The Mine Rescue Competition gives volunteer rescue teams a chance to exercise emergency plans in scenarios as close to real life as possible – they’re under pressure and working against the clock.

“We don’t ever want the rescue teams to have to use the skills they’re testing and refining at this event, but the fact is that every mine must be prepared for an emergency.”

Mr Gunn noted the Bendigo mining industry employs about 650 workers, and around 1% get injured yearly.

“This number might seem low, but worst-case scenarios include an explosion or fire in an underground mine, workers being entrapped by falling ground, or an incident involving mining and mobile equipment,” he said.

“Mine rescue teams are trained to handle these situations. If a genuine emergency does occur, the training and practice employed during these competitions might just be invaluable.”

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08:41 am, Wednesday 21 July, 2010

Recent accidents at mines in north Queensland highlight the importance of meeting workplace safety needs, a trade union says.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) held its 25th annual safety conference in Mackay last week to discuss the concerns of mine workers and the development of better safety training.

Operations at two mines near Moranbah in north Queensland were stopped temporarily in the past month after workers suffered injuries in separate equipment-related accidents.

According to CFMEU district union inspector Greg Dalliston, the conference would discuss important issues such as chemical exposure, gas monitoring and shuttle car safety.

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08:33 am, Wednesday 14 July, 2010

Companies must prioritise worker safety, a trade union says.

The call was made by Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) after two serious workplace accidents took place in Queensland’s Central Highlands region in a span of one week.

A part of the Broadmeadow Mine near Moranbah, south-west of Mackay, was shut down for around three hours on July 4 when a machinery crushed a contractor’s foot.

On July 6, a shuttle car crash had led to serious injuries to two workers at the North Goonyella mine.

According to CFMEU spokesman Steve Smyth, workers must not be coerced into risking their safety.

“Guys will say ‘I want to have a break’ and [companies will] say ‘no, we’ll continue working for a little bit longer,’” Mr Smyth said.

“From the other end is where there’ll be procedures in place and they’ll be saying to the guys ‘look, can we quicken this up’, not actually directly telling our guys to take a short cut.”

Mr Smyth puts emphasis in the importance of safety.

“It’s a concern when we have one incident, let alone a series of incidents,” he said.

“From our perspective, we just want to hope that pressures aren’t being put on people in the work place to put production before safety and we just re-emphasise to all the guys if it’s not safe, don’t do the job.”

A spokesman for the company operating the Broadmeadow mine said they are conducting their own investigation on the incident.

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06:10 pm, Wednesday 23 June, 2010

No further landslides have been reported at an ore mining site on Tasmania’s west coast since a major crash happened almost a week ago.

The major landslide took place on Thursday, when almost half a million tonnes of rock collapsed to the Savage River mine.

The mining company’s chief operating officer (COO) said the area has stabilised, although there will be no mining operations in the area for some time.

“There’s been no further movement, it’s as it was effectively the minute after it happened,” he said.

“We’ve had the opportunity because the area’s stabilised and with a lot of supervision available on site, we were able to move two pieces of equipment that had previously been held down there; a excavator.”

According to the COO, the landslide is unlikely to impact the workers.

The evacuation of the workers before the rockfall took place.

The COO said the mining plan is being modified in order to deal with the rockfall without affecting the workforce or the production.

“At this stage it won’t affect anything, we may need to look at that, review that as we go,” he said.

“We work openly with the workforce, they know exactly what we’re doing as we do it and we’ll keep them involved and most of the planning that happens involves them helping us plan.”

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08:53 pm, Wednesday 14 April, 2010

Western Australia’s Chamber of Minerals and Energy has called for a major mine safety reform following the death of a mine worker on Sunday.

A 45-year-old man, who worked in the mine as a driver, died after his underground truck fell 18 metres into a hole.

Last year, the site was briefly shut down when three workers became trapped underground after two rockfall incidents.

Reg Howard-Smith of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy urges the State Government to develop a new safety model as quickly as possible.

“As far as mine safety is concerned I think it’s time for a significant change,” he said.

“That’s a change away from a system which has been in place for many years.

“It’s what we call a risk-based system and that’s not talking about taking risks but it’s about assessing the risks and making sure that those risks that do exist are really what is being addressed.”

However, Mr Howard-Smith believes calls for inquiry into mine safety are premature.

“There’s been many inquiries… in fact there’s been about five inquiries in the last seven years and we think the direction is quite clear. We must move with significant legislative change rather than going through yet another broad inquiry.”

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10:00 pm, Saturday 10 April, 2010

A string of seminars across New South Wales will focus on the hazards faced in the mining industry, including their health and business implications.

The workshops are hosted by Industry and Investment NSW. For the next seven months, the workshops will centre on common issues among miners, including health and fatigue management and musculoskeletal disorders.

The workshops in Orange, Dubbo, Cobar and Lithgow have been organised following the Wran Mine Safety Review.

John Flint, the director of mine safety performance, John said the cost to staff and companies can be substantial if it is administered improperly.

“Best practice occupational health and safety, which includes best practice health management, is one of the pathway to high productivity,” he said.

“You cannot have a highly productive mine if you have poor health and safety.”

Mr Flint says the safety risks are not limited to the mining industry.

“They’re a problem for general industry as well but they’re specifically to address issues that have been identified as areas of need in the mining industry, not discounting that they are issues in other industries as well.”

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06:30 pm, Tuesday 30 March, 2010

Queensland’s mining industry has reported its best safety performance on record, the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) says.

According to the QRC, the current information on the state’s mine safety reveals improvements in several key safety indicators.

The total number of reported injuries has decreased, along with the frequency rate of lost time injuries.

However, there were four mining and quarry-related fatalities during the financial year 2008-’09. The increase in time lost due to injury and illness can also be improved for the industry.

The QRC says there is no such thing as an acceptable level of death or injury, so health and safety of workers should always be prioritised.

It says it would also like to see future reports released more promptly because the most recent data is up to 15 months old.

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