Explosive fire and black smoke seen at Grosvenor mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin before emergency evacuation of workers

Workers were forced to emergency evacuate after a fiery explosion that led to thick black smoke pouring out of an underground coal mine.

The explosion was reported at the Grosvenor mine in the Bowen Basin area of central east Queensland near the town of Moranbah on Saturday morning. 

An unnamed source told the Courier Mail that the blast happened at the tailgate end of the ‘longwall’ where coal is excavated and black smoke was seen coming out of ventilation fans.

Mine operator Anglo American insisted the evacuation had been ‘orderly’ and there were no reports of injury.  

‘While the extent of the incident is still evolving, the safety of all personnel is confirmed,’ it said in a statement.

‘Implementation controls are active and in place, including the use of nitrogen and monitoring by our extensive real-time system.’

Sources told the publication the fire was still building and carbon monoxide had been detected near the mine at an excess level of 600 parts per million. 

The mine has a troubled recent history. 

Five workers suffered extensive burns in a gas explosion in May 2020 at the Grosvenor mine.

An inquiry into the incident found the explosion was caused by production exceeding the project’s gas drainage capacity.

Following Saturday’s incident, Anglo American said the ‘sole focus’ is people’s safety.

‘To ensure the safety of our people, we have invested significantly in remote operating technologies, and gas and real-time monitoring at our underground operations to enable early detection and timely implementation of action response plans,’ the spokesperson said.

The company said Saturday’s evacuation was carried out in accordance with the company’s action response plan.

“A dedicated team has been established to respond to the incident,” the spokesperson said.

The mine operator also said Resources Safety and Health Queensland was notified immediately of the incident and its inspectors were on site.

There were reports of an explosion at the mine along with black smoke coming out of ventilation fans

‘Resources Safety and Health Queensland was notified of an ignition of methane at Grosvenor coal mine early this morning,’ a spokesperson said.

‘We understand all workers have been removed from underground and accounted for, with no injuries reported.’

Mining and Energy Union representatives will also conduct their own investigation into the incident.

‘We are greatly relieved that workers are safe and there were no injuries or fatalities,’ Queensland branch president Mitch Hughes said.

‘Of course it’s of great concern that this event has occurred.’