PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Queensland Office of the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor (OWHSP) will not be laying charges against miner Anglo American following the 2020 explosion at its Grosvenor coal mine, which injured five.

Anglo American this week restarted operations at Grosvenor, after receiving confirmation from the regulator, Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ), on February 16 that longwall mining operations could now recommence following the incident.

In August of last year, the RSHQ referred the matter to OWHSP relating to its investigation of the explosion at the Grosvenor coal mine at Moranbah.

The referral to the OWHSP related to an alleged windblast from within the goaf and a subsequent explosion on the longwall face, in which the coal mine workers were injured.

The Work Health and Safety Prosecutor Aaron Guilfoyle has determined not to commence any prosecution in relation to the referral.

“A brief of evidence was referred to the OWHSP by RSHQ following a comprehensive investigation into the potential causes of the incident, led by RSHQ’s Coal Mining Inspectorate,” Guilfoyle said.

“Having assessed the brief of evidence against the Guidelines of the Director of Public Prosecutions, I am not satisfied there exists a reasonable prospect of securing a conviction against any of the identified duty holders under the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999.”

OWHSP’s decision has been blasted by the Mining and Energy Union Queensland, with president Stephen Smyth saying the findings of the Queensland Coal Mining Board of Inquiry were damning of the mine’s management and repercussions should follow.

“I am personally devastated at this decision, having worked very closely with the Grosvenor miners as they have recovered from the explosion and dealt with the fallout,” said Smyth.

“I know that workers across our industry, especially those at Grosvenor mine who have just this week restarted longwall production, are angry. In an environment where our members get sacked for minor policy breaches, it’s deeply unfair that a management team that oversaw a mine blowing up should face no consequences whatsoever.

“The Board of Inquiry report outlined the mine’s repeated failure to drain dangerous gases in pace with production. Risk assessments required to control spontaneous combustion in LW 104 were not undertaken and mining should not have occurred; workers were put at unacceptable risk in LW 104 for months prior to the explosion which, in turn, put all mineworkers at risk.  

“The report painted a picture of an accident waiting to happen. It was a foreseeable event and no action was taken to protect the miners at Grosvenor,” said Smyth.

“Mineworkers put their lives on the line every day and they deserve to know that the people responsible for their safety will be held accountable for meeting their obligations.

“We have workplace health and safety laws that provide for prosecution where negligence leads to serious injury or death. These laws are of no use if the government is too scared to use them against mining companies. 

“In the strongest possible terms, we urge the OWHSP to review this decision.”