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Longwall operations have been temporarily suspended at a Central Queensland mine following a frictional ignition event.
No workers were injured when the incident occurred in the longwall at Kestrel South underground mine near Emerald on Sunday afternoon.
A frictional ignition refers to a hot spot or spark that ignites a flammable concentration of methane.
A Kestrel Coal spokesman said the Queensland Mines Inspectorate was aware of the incident.
Resources Safety and Health Queensland was contacted for comment.
“Kestrel Coal elected to temporarily suspend longwall operations while an internal investigation was conducted into the cause of the incident,” the company spokesman said.
Coal provides thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to the Central Queensland economy, so the union representing the industry is calling on the State Government to establish a statutory authority to oversee the transformation of the sector.
The âWorkers Future Authorityâ, as the CFMEU has dubbed it, would be independent of government departments to manage industry transformation and workers transitioning to alternate employment.
With the transition to renewable energy, the CFMEU said the âWorkers Future Authorityâ would identify and attract new industries to impacted regions and would identify areas for skills development, training, and government investment.
Central Queensland has both solar and wind farms established and proposed, plus Gladstone has been identified as a hydrogen hub, on the back of its port, infrastructure, the Gladstone Hydrogen Ecosystem and Hydrogen Park Gladstone initiatives.
Claire Power THE Ipswich community came out in droves to support today s CFMEU Mining and Energy Labour Day races. More than 2000 patrons enjoyed the sunny conditions to end the Labour Day weekend with a host of free carnival rides. Thanks to the support of the CFMEU, the club rolled out the giant slide, jumping castle, rock climbing wall all free for the community to enjoy. Family fun at the Ipswich Turf Club CFMEU Mining and Energy Labour Day race meeting. Picture: Claire Power The day is a highlight on the annual club calendar. It has been supported by CFMEU Mining and Energy for 14 years and always draws a crowd with the nine-card meeting offering up lots of trackside entertainment.
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Subscriber only Mine workers will today plead their case before a Senate Inquiry on proposed workplace law changes which the union has labelled a detriment to Mackay and its resources industry. Tightening the definition of casual employment will be a key aspect of a 27 page submission union representatives will present to the committee, which is sitting in Townsville. CFMEU Mining and Energy Queensland southwest vice-president Shane Brunker said the casualisation of mine jobs was a cancer that s spreading through the industry . He said there were thousands of workers across the Bowen Basin, contracted through labour hire companies as a casual employee but working a full-time roster without benefits such as annual or sick leave.