After starting his coal career in 1961, James is now in semi-retirement but is still keeping himself busy with consultancy work in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales and in Western Australia, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. He has also had time to develop the swivel head continuous miner – an innovation that will allow continuous miners to develop steep seams productively. ...Click here to read more on James’ innovation.

Q: You started with the UK’s National Coal Board – what were the sorts of tasks you had to do as a trainee?

 

A: The initial tasks were those of an apprentice - cleaning machinery parts before servicing, soldering lugs on earth bonding leads, loading mining supplies. This moved to underground, driving a pit pony, hauling timber to the working faces and then loading coal and timbering on a longwall face with a working height of about 600mm.

 

Q: What was it like moving from the green fields of the UK to Africa’s deepest gold mines?

 

A: I don’t know too much about green fields - in winter in was dark when I went underground and falling dark on return to the surface. South Africa was exciting and a challenge. The gold mining conditions were tough, very hard abrasive rock, deep and very hot, and a six-day week was standard. The cost of living was low, there was no TV and we made our own entertainment. I moved back into coal just when the first oil crisis struck in 1971, which I think was one of the early boosts to South Africa’s coal industry.

 

Q: What were the biggest challenges about working in South Africa?

 

A: I think the biggest challenge was the shortage of skilled people. This meant that in the coal industry as a manager I was involved, amongst other things, in housing, domestic and industrial water supply, medical services, security and the operation of a steam-hauled railway as well as the running of a mine. For a considerable period I did not have the services of an engineer, so whilst I had excellent foremen I had to get the textbooks out to solve some of the more technical issues.

 

Q: Tell us about your involvement in the transition of South Africa’s Phoenix mine from a hand-loaded to continuous miner operation?

 

A: The company, Tavistock Collieries, ran a very well-organised and successful conventional mechanised operation at South Witbank and Tavistock mines, so we were able to use a lot of the experience in terms of coal haulage and logistics in setting up the operation. A key to the success of the operation was consistent and systematic maintenance and then full-on cutting operations. We consistently achieved around 60,000 to 75,000 tonnes per month with one continuous miner, but the very tough nature of the coal made this heavy going on the equipment.

 

Q: From hot to cold, tell us about moving from South Africa’s coal mines to working inside the Arctic Circle.

 

A: My first overseas assignment for the then British Mining Consultants was a short evaluation of some coal prospects in Spitsbergen - which is inside the Arctic Circle. At that time a new airport facility had been completed and accommodation was available at the airport’s construction camp. The benefit of staying at the camp - I was told - was that food was available at the airport’s cafeteria. What I did not know was that the cafeteria only opened when a plane came in, and there were only two flights a week!

 

Q: What were your most interesting experiences in the planning of the undersea Donkin Morion mine off Canada?

 

A: Technically this mine was interesting as the majority of the resource was under the Gulf of St. Laurence, in a multi-seam environment. The management of effects of subsidence was crucial to prevent inundation from the sea whilst maximising extraction. Again, winter was cold and I actually saw the recreational fishermen fishing through holes that had been made in the ice.

 

Q: You had some interesting times with Australia’s industrial relations landscape in the early 1990s working at the Ballamoo Mine. Tell us about that.

 

A: Industrial relations in the early 1990s in the coal industry in Queensland and NSW added a whole new dimension to my concept of mine management. My style was to lead from the front and get people to work with me. This style has become increasingly difficult with the ever increasing demands for documentation and administration and the incessant demand for formal management plans.

 

Q: What are some of your most interesting stories from your times at United, Cumnock No.1, Nardell (now Newpac) and New Wallsend?

 

A: I think Cumnock, where I was employed very soon after privatisation, would have been the most interesting introduction for a mine manager. I arrived at the mine on my first day, Monday, to find the senior staff underground. I enquired as to where people were and was told that a heating had flared up and the team were underground assessing the situation. I soon joined them.

 

On Tuesday I received a delegation from the union lodge with a list of grievances and claims (a try-on for the new manager). I turned the tables and presented a list of changes I had in mind, which included moving from seven-hour to eight-hour shifts, which was a shock to the state mine culture.

 

Wednesday we were on strike.

 

Thursday I had mines rescue teams underground making major changes to the ventilation, which subdued the heating.

 

Friday we were in the local industrial court, got sorted out and installed the eight-hour shifts, and the following week we were in production.

 

Q: What were some of the emotional issues acquiring the Gretley mine with a group of investors in 1998? ...click here to read on.