On a visit to the state’s mine safety research centre, the Safety in Mines Testing and Research Station (Simtars), Wilson said the industry had come a long way from the August 7, 1994 Moura No. 2 mine explosion which killed 11 miners.

 

He said one of the major reforms from mining disasters in Queensland’s coal fields was the creation of Simtars.

 

“Today it is recognised as one of the world’s best in mine safety and health,” Wilson said.

 

During his visit to the research station Wilson was shown a methane explosion carried out in a 30m tube, a flameproof test on a piece of underground equipment and the latest gas monitoring system in a coal mine.

 

The first Miners Memorial Day will be held next month to commemorate the lives of more than 1450 miners lost in mining accidents.

 

It will be held on September 19, the 87th anniversary of a coal dust explosion at the Mount Mulligan mine in 1921, which claimed the lives of 75 miners.