Coronado Global Resources Inc has advised that on 12 January 2020, an accident occurred at the Curragh Coal Mine that fatally injured an employee of mining services provider, Thiess.
Limited information on the incident is available at this stage, however, Queensland Police, the Queensland Mines Inspectorate, and relevant authorities have been notified and an incident investigation is underway.
Coronado and Thiess have extended their deepest sympathies to the family of the individual and all those affected by the tragic event.
The Curragh Coal Mine is an open-cut coal mine located approximately 30 kilometres north of Blackwater in Central Queensland.
Curragh has been operating since 1983 and in 2017 it was the sixth-largest metallurgical coal mine in Australia by production.
Thiess commenced operations at Curragh Coal Mine in 2004 with the construction of mine infrastructure.
In September 2019, Thiess was awarded a six-year AU$1.3 billion contract extension by Coronado for it to continue to provide overburden removal and haulage, mining and run of mine rehandling services, equipment maintenance and pit dewatering.
Operations at Curragh have been suspended until investigators permit the operations to resume.
Coronado notes that workers are being progressively briefed on the incident as they arrive on-site to commence their shifts and the company has made counselling services available.
CFMEU Mining and Energy Queensland President, Stephen Smyth, said the whole mining community would be shocked and saddened by the news, which comes on the heels of five deaths in Queensland coal mines last year.
“Our hearts go out to family, friends and loved ones,” said Mr Smyth.
“This is a terrible start to 2020. The industry must redouble efforts to end the tragic loss of life in our mines.”
Coronado says it will provide further updates on mine operations in due course.
