Huntly East, which also has a qualified ventilation officer, has extensively overhauled and upgraded its ventilation system based on an Australian two-fan design, which was installed when the mine was built in 1978.

“The system is designed so that should the fan stall temporarily due to sudden wind gusts, the second fan will maintain the integrity of the mine ventilation,” the company said. “This has happened on a few occasions in the last year.”

It also attempted to defend safety at the mine after excessive gas was monitored leading to and cessation of operations. It called public meetings last week and pointed to an audit conducted for the Department of Labour that found there was no evidence that a dangerous situation was imminent.

Solid Energy remains very confident that the mine is operating safety, its chief operating officer Barry Bragg said.

“The company has been unable to find evidence to support any of the allegations but is encouraging staff to talk to the Engineers Union, elected site safety representatives, mine management or the Department of Labour if they have concerns or information. No one has done so to date,” he said.

The firm said it had spent the last 24 hours talking with its Huntly East Mine staff and other stakeholders in an attempt to get independent confirmation of allegations made through the media about the safety of the mine.

“Safety is our priority,” he said. “At Solid Energy safety comes before production. The company never compromises safety. The company actively encourages staff to report safety issues and anyone has the power to stop work if they believe an activity is unsafe. If the company receives information it will act on it.”

Solid Energy’s training programme is “mature and comprehensive with both classroom and on the job training”, it said.

The independent audit noted that there was “extensive training” undertaken at the mine and that “this is demonstrated by management’s commitment to EXITO gas tickets for everyone on site and the construction of a new training centre”.

Over the last 12 months, the turnover at the mine has been 18% as a number of mine workers have been attracted to work in the Australian resource boom.

Solid Energy’s ongoing recruitment and training programme maintains a one to one ratio of qualified to trainee mineworkers, a ratio that has not changed over the last seven years.

The mine also has full complement of tradespeople to support the underground operation.