Explosion-risk incidents accounted for about 15% of all significant mining and quarrying incidents in July, according to the Queensland Mines Inspectorate’s recently-released compilation report for the month.
While the inspectorate does not disclose the mines involved in any incident, ILN has previously covered the two ignition incidents at Oaky North in July.
The first was the ignition of a small pocket of methane at the longwall face, which was described by the inspectorate as taking place at the lowered main gate drum of a longwall shearer.
The second incident the following week was a “very minor frictional event” in a development section, according to an Xstrata spokesperson at the time.
The inspectorate’s brief description was that methane ignited at the collar of a rockbolt hole while a worker tensioned the nut on the bolt.
But there were other worrying gas-related incidents in July.
There was another case of methane igniting at a mine, but it was at the top of a cased borehole.
The inspectorate said it occurred while a worker was using an electric rattle gun to tighten bolts on a flange between risers connected to a submersible pump.
The pump was being lowered from the surface into water above a coal seam.
In another incident, an underground coal mine was evacuated after a Trigger Action Response Plan 4-level gas reading was recorded in the longwall tailgate.
A shuttle car also had an arc flash underground that month after it collided into a rib after being loaded by a continuous miner.
A separate shuttle car wound up with its cable sheath damaged and an exposed conductor after it made contact with a rib after turning a corner.
Another underground coal incident involved a rockfall in a supported intersection.
The inspectorate said a continuous miner made three separate plunges of this intersection without installing additional ground support.
In a reminder of the danger of high-pressure hydraulic fluid injuries at underground mines, a fitter had a thumb and finger lacerated after he disconnected a blocked but pressurised hose while he was performing fault finding work on a jumbo drill rig.
There was an assortment of fire incidents at the surface mines in the state but one of the more unusual fires occurred at an underground metalliferous mine.
The inspectorate said a forklift caught fire but did not detail how it happened.
“The fire suppression was ineffective and the forklift was burnt out,” the inspectorate said.
“Mine personnel were evacuated to safe areas.”
There were two sleeping behind the wheel incidents at surface mines, with one dump truck colliding with a light pole and another veering into the safety berm on a haul road.
A loaded Caterpillar water truck also managed a 180 degree spin after skidding 36m backwards on an overwatered ramp.
The inspectorate said the operator left the spray controls on when he thought he had turned them off.
Accidents and high potential incidents totalled 161 for Queensland’s mining and quarrying industries in July – slightly above the 12-month rolling average of 154.
