Anglo American has permitted a team of its workers to re-enter the Grosvenor mine in Queensland to conduct safety and compliance inspections underground while restoring power and gas monitoring.
Anglo American has stopped activities at the Grosvenor mine after an ignition event in May 2020 injured five people on site.
The company stated it would be taking a staged re-entry approach as it gradually brought more workers back to the mine.
Anglo American metallurgical coal chief executive Tyler Mitchelson said the safety and compliance inspections would ensure the mine was safe.
“Following a substantive program of work that included permanently sealing the impacted area of the mine with five large, concrete seals and installing additional gas monitoring infrastructure, we completed a highly rigorous risk assessment process ahead of re-entry, drawing on both internal and external experts,” he said.
“We are taking a staged approach to re-entry, with the team initially completing safety and compliance inspections, and restoring power and gas monitoring to ensure the safety and integrity of the mine.”
Anglo American has focussed on safety improvement works since the Grosvenor accident.
Mitchelson stated the company would be advancing its remote operation capabilities.
“…These solutions will be embedded at Grosvenor prior to restarting longwall mining in the second half of this year,” Mitchelson said.
“The safety of our workforce is our priority and we are continuing to engage closely with them and support all of our colleagues who were impacted by the incident last year.”
Anglo American’s return to site was possible thanks to approval from Resources Safety & Health Queensland (RSHQ).