Metarock will undertake a thorough independent review of its safety systems and practices following an incident involving a Mastermyne employee at Anglo American’s Moranbah North coal mine in Queensland.
Mastermyne has worked at Moranbah North for over 15 years and parent company Metarock has now commissioned an independent review into the company’s safety practices.
Anglo American has ceased mining activities at the site in Queensland, following an incident moving old equipment from an underground roadway.
One Mastermyne employee lost their life on Friday March 25. There is currently no timeline on when the mining suspension will be lifted.
Anglo American chief executive officer Tyler Mitchelson said both his company and Mastermyne would provide every support to the families affected by the loss.
“Our focus is on supporting our colleague’s family and all those involved in the tragic incident. We have services on-site to support our workforce at Moranbah North mine,” Mitchelson said.
“We have ceased mining activities at Moranbah North and will undertake a full investigation with relevant authorities, so we can understand how this incident occurred.
“We have also made the decision to suspend operations across all our sites to commence Stop for Safety sessions today, focusing on applying critical controls and risk management, including during lifting activities and ensuring we are always maintaining chronic unease. These sessions will continue to be held with ongoing crews in the coming days.”
Minerals Council of Australia chief executive officer Tania Constable said the organisation extends its sincere condolences to the worker’s family, friends, colleagues and emergency response personnel.
“The Australian minerals industry’s core value and commitment is the safety, health and psychological wellbeing of its workforce, where everyone who goes to work returns home safe and healthy,” she said.
“Industry continues efforts to eliminating fatalities, injuries and occupational illnesses, and building and sustaining respectful workplaces.”
This is the second mine fatality under Metarock’s watch in less than seven months, after another in September 2021 at the Gregory Crinum mine coal mine, 200km south of Moranbah North.
Metarock managing director Tony Caruso said he was taken aback by the two incidents and the company would make every effort to maintain the safety of its employees.
“Safety is one of our central values. We have operated for over 25 years without a loss of life on our projects and to have two fatalities in a short space of time is unacceptable,” he said.
“We will undertake a thorough independent review of our safety systems and practices across the organisation to understand where we can improve our systems and approach to further reduce the risks of serious safety incidents.”