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All the latest in mine health and safety in NSW
Weekly incident summary
To report an incident or injury call 1300814609
Weekly incident summary - week ending 3 April 2020
38 reportable incidents, 4 summarised below

Dangerous incident | IncNot0037071

Underground coal mine
Principal hazard: Fire or explosion
Summary: While laying out idler rollers for maintenance, workers smelled smoke. They found a conveyor drive gearbox anti-run back had failed and was on fire. The flame was about 300 millimetres high. They turned off the belt and used two fire extinguishers to put out the fire.  
Recommendations to industry: Mine operators should review their maintenance strategies for anti-run back devices with particular reference to lubrication. When developing control measures related to conveyors in underground coal mines, mine operators must take into account Australian Standard AS 4606-2012, Grade S fire resistant and antistatic requirements for conveyor belting and conveyor accessories.

Dangerous incident | IncNot0037069

Underground coal mine
Principal mining hazard: Ground or strata failure
 
Summary: A small coal burst occurred on a longwall face during production. The shearer was cutting into the maingate in full remote mode. The area was identified as a high potential coal burst zone associated with a dyke running through the area. No workers were exposed to the ejected material.
Recommendations to industry: This incident highlights the benefits of implementing robust controls to mitigate the risks of coal burst events. The Resources Regulator has published reports on specific coal burst incidents as well as a report on compliance with legislative requirements in relation to ground and strata failure. The 2019 report recommended that:
  • Mine operators should review their trigger action response plans (TARPs) for mapping, inspection and monitoring results to improve the response time to major changes in the mine environment that may affect ground stability.
Refer to:

Dangerous incident | IncNot0037081

Underground coal mine
Principal mining hazard: Fire or explosion
Summary: A longwall had cut one shear on afternoon shift before stopping production for about 1.5 hours to replace a roller on an outbye conveyor. During the stoppage, two longwall operators smelled something burning before another operator found a 75 millimetre flame underneath the cable tray at the back of pan 5 in the maingate. The area was hosed to extinguish the fire and cool the area. Heat, due to friction between the AFC bars and sigma section, is believed to be the causal factor.  
Recommendations to industry: Mine operators should be mindful of the potential for excessive conveyor chain tension to increase frictional energy. The effectiveness of chain tension monitoring systems should be reviewed and cooling mechanisms considered. 

Dangerous incident | IncNot0037093

Underground metals mine
 
Summary: A boilermaker suffered an electric shock while in contact with welding equipment in an underground workshop. 
Recommendations to industry: Mine operators should verify that workers carrying out welding activities have identified appropriate earthing points, their personal protection equipment (PPE) is dry and they are appropriately trained. Welding machines must be isolated when not in use.
Refer to:
ISR20-14 | Go to website

Other publications of interest

These incidents are included for your review. The NSW Resources Regulator does not endorse the findings or recommendations of these incidents. It is your legal duty to exercise due diligence to ensure the business complies with its work health and safety obligations.
International (fatal)
Publication: MSHA
Mine fatality - final report
A 30-year-old truck driver/quality control person, with one-year-and-eight-months of total mining experience, was fatally injured on 8 January, 2020. The worker died when he fell into a lime surge hopper and became engulfed by the material.
Details

Publication: MSHA
Mine fatality - Safety Alert - Electro-hydraulic lifts
Damaged or defective welds on aerial lifts have caused several fatalities in the mining industry.
Details

Publication: MSHA
Mine fatality - final report
A 69-year-old front-end loader operator with more than 37 years of total mining experience, died from aspiration pneumonia on January 8, 2020. The worker suffered injuries and was hospitalised as a result of an accident on 30 July, 2019.  He was operating a front-end loader when the bucket hit the ground, causing the front-end loader to abruptly stop. The force of the impact resulted in the operator, who was not wearing a seat belt, striking the front window, which caused serious injury, including paralysis to his arms and legs.
Details
International (other, non-fatal)
Publication: MinEx NZ
ADT rollovers continue
An articulated dump truck (ADT) was travelling empty down a reasonably steep haul road when the truck started to accelerate. The operator applied the exhaust retarder and then the brakes, but neither actions slowed the ADT down. The operator tried to run the ADT into a bund however lost control of the truck. The truck rolled onto its right-hand side. The operator was not injured.
Details
National (other, non-fatal)
Publication: DNRME (Qld)
Track press cylinder failure – Mine safety alert No 371
A serious incident occurred while coal mine workers (CMWs) were undertaking track repairs on a Hitachi EX1900 excavator at a mine site. The workers were preparing to use a 360tonne track press. While aligning the track press in preparation to press out a track pin the pressurised cylinder head plate failed catastrophically.
Details

Publication: DNRME (WA)
Inspection and maintenance of handrails – Mine safety alert No 173
During inspections, handrails are frequently found in poor condition or not fit for purpose, including handrails that have collapsed in areas where they need to protect people from falling. This is especially notable where structures are prone to corrosion such as above tanks, in saline or moist environments or are adjacent to vibrating equipment and mobile plant work areas.
Details

Publication: DNRME (WA)
Operator crushed between handrail and ladder – Significant incident report No 280
A bulldozer operator sustained serious injuries to the leg after being crushed between a hydraulic access staircase and handrail that were attached to the bulldozer. The bulldozer operator had just completed a pre-work inspection of the job site with the lead hand and was accessing the bulldozer via the stairs when the stairs began to raise unexpectedly. The operator attempted to get clear of the moving stairs by jumping to the platform alongside the operator's cabin but was trapped between the handrail and the moving staircase.
Details

Publication: DNRME (WA)
Paste wall failure – Significant incident report No 279
Two workers at an underground mine were approaching a paste retaining wall during paste filling, when the wall catastrophically failed. An inrush of fluidised paste entered the drive inundating the workers, who escaped by climbing up the wall mesh.
Details

Publication: DNRME (Qld)
Mobile plant – Access entrapment
A high potential incident involving machine access occurred at a mine in the northern Bowen Basin on 28 March 2020. A maintainer was completing post service checks while seated in a grader with the cabin door open. The grader was fitted with a dynamic rotating access ladder. On completion of testing, the maintainer initiated a machine shutdown, and the ladder activated, swinging up. The maintainer was caught half out of the cabin when the ladder struck his foot pinning him to the walkway. In this incident, the maintainer was able to activate the emergency stop.
Details
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You can find all our guidance and incident related publications (that is, safety alerts, safety bulletins, incident information releases, weekly incident summaries and investigation reports) on our website: resourcesregulator.nsw.gov.au
*While the majority of incidents are reported and recorded within a week of the event, some are notified outside this time period. The incidents in this report therefore have not necessarily occurred in a one week period. All newly recorded incidents, whatever the incident date, are reviewed by the Chief Inspector and senior staff each week and summarised in this report. For more comprehensive statistical data refer to our Safety Performance Measures Reports and our Business Activity Reports
 
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