From boot boy to the lofty heights of general manager with Pacific Coal’s Kestrel Mine, Dan has come a long way in a reasonably short time. He started out in 1981 with Clutha Development and BP Coal in the Burragorang Valley then moved to Tahmoor as a machine operator. He quickly stepped up the ranks in roles including mining engineer, production deputy and shift undermanager. With Kembla Coal and Coke he worked as an undermanager in charge and then mine manager. His next role was with Austral Coal as general manager with Austral Coal before moving to Queensland as underground manager then general manager with Kestrel. When Dan does get time away from work he lets loose with his V8 ski-boat.
ILN:What is your earliest mining memory?
DT: My first week straight out of high school – into a pillar lifting crew (not much induction in those days). The miner driver was Peter Kozman (well known to many coal miners) who was letting the car driver know exactly how useless he was for running into the back of the miner.
ILN: What made you choose mining as a career?
DT: Family background on both sides (Wonthaggi,Victoria and Nottingham, UK) plus being able to earn some money while studying.
ILN: What was your favourite job in a coal mine?
DT: Production deputy – there is nothing quite like that immediate gratification you get at the end of a good shift.
ILN: What was your least favourite job?
DT: Boot boy in a lifting section – I had to make sure the tea was right for the crew at crib-time.
ILN: Who, or what, has most influenced your mining career?
DT: Many people, but probably special mention needs to go to Brian Nicholls who set me on the path to mine leadership.
ILN: What do you consider your best mining achievement?
DT: Kestrel: Getting the mine re-opened in the first place and establishing a great workforce with even greater potential.
ILN: What do you see as being the greatest mining development during your career?
DT: A development process that is truly continuous.
ILN: Do you hold any mining records?
DT: Highest producing underground coal mine in Australia 2002-03. Does the fastest time running up the drift count?
ILN: Do you have any unfulfilled ambitions?
DT: To achieve a year without any injuries at the mine.
ILN: What was your most embarrassing moment in a coal mine?
DT: I was trying to collate data on gas levels in the returns (before the advent of continuous monitors). We had loaned from the CSIRO some analysers and a massive computer with these big disk platters. With some healthy scepticism from a formidable little Electrical Engineer (by the name of Pat Woods), I was trying to set this computer up in the mine substation and managed to trip all the underground power.
ILN: What was your scariest time in a coal mine?
DT: Crawling through the goaf at the back of the maingate to the nearest cut-through after a fall buried the maingate on the infamous Longwall 3 at Tahmoor.
ILN: What is your worst memory of coal mining?
DT: Mining fatality involving Kim Sherrell.
ILN: Do you think that the day of the fully automated remotely operated face is near?
DT: Yes – progress is being made all the time. We are already seeing production occurring with only one person on the face.
ILN: What major improvements would you like to see on longwall operations?
DT: The industry doesn’t need more improvements in the equipment right now – we need to get out of the current equipment what it is truly capable of already.
