Beamish, who is also adjunct associate professor at the University of New South Wales’ school of mining engineering, advised that sampling and testing programs needed to be designed in collaboration with site personnel to provide the most cost-effective and valid data for management planning.

“Repeatable and reproducible results are an essential part of providing industry with confidence that the information they are working with is reliable,” he said.

“The main aim is to develop a principal hazard management plan that considers all available data to identify the appropriate controls needed to safely mine coal under the conditions that exist onsite.”

Beamish and Professor David Cliff from the Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre at the University of Queensland presented complementary updates on the state of play with respect to sponcom management at Coal Operators’ Conference held in Wollongong in February.

Cliff pointed out that sponcom events continued to occur despite the advances made by the industry since the Moura disaster in Queensland in 1994.

He said the need for an appropriate principal hazard management plan for sponcom was still crucial for safe coal mining and there was no excuse for complacency.

He emphasised that assessing the risk of sponcom required a good understanding of coal self-heating behaviour on a scientific and engineering basis.

This can be achieved by using relevant sampling and testing to evaluate the coal propensity to self-heat.

The information obtained can be used to interpret the influence of site-specific factors on the risk of a heating event.

Beamish also presented results from the commissioning of two sponcom testing laboratories in Brisbane and Wellington.