Anglo American tackles subterranean fire at Australian coal mine

02 Jul 2024 CW Team

Anglo American reported that it was contending with an underground fire at its Grosvenor metallurgical coal mine in Queensland, Australia. The fire had started on Saturday, igniting at the longwall section of the mine in Moranbah, a coal mining town situated around 1,000 km north of Brisbane. This incident occurred at the same mine where five workers were critically injured in an explosion in May 2020.

According to a statement on Facebook on Sunday, Anglo American stated, "We are currently managing a combustion event underground at Grosvenor Mine, following an ignition at the longwall on Saturday." They emphasized that their primary focus was on safely extinguishing the underground fire, which emergency response teams were handling from the surface.

The mine site had been closed, permitting only essential emergency services personnel to be present, as noted in an earlier social media update. The company also mentioned that efforts had commenced to temporarily seal the mine from the surface, a crucial measure aimed at preventing smoke from affecting the town's residents, numbering 9,425.

Acknowledging the complexity and evolving nature of the situation, Anglo American cautioned that ensuring the safety of all emergency teams involved would require significant time. All mine workers were successfully evacuated after the fire broke out.

A spokesperson for the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services clarified that their agency was not directly involved in managing the incident, which remained under the mine's jurisdiction. Queensland Mines Minister Scott Stewart, as reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corp on Sunday, assured a comprehensive investigation into the fire would be conducted.

In its annual report, Anglo American disclosed that Grosvenor mine had produced 2.797 million tons of metallurgical coal in 2023, constituting 17% of the company's coal output. It remains the world's third-largest exporter of metallurgical coal.

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