Anglo American has suspended operations at its Moranbah North coking coal mine in Australia following a collision that occurred between a personnel carrier and a grader, which killed one worker and injured several others.
Following the incident, the company notified the relevant authorities and is currently carrying out an investigation to determine the cause of the incident.
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The grader driver died after the vehicle collided with another vehicle that was carrying ten workers at the Moranbah North mine.
The accident took place in the access drift close to the surface of the mine.
Reuters quoted Anglo American underground operations executive head Glen Britton as saying: “We are devastated by the tragic loss of one of our employees in the incident that occurred yesterday at Moranbah North.”
After the accident, the grader driver was taken to a hospital and later died, while four other employees were sent to hospitals in the towns of Mackay and Rockhampton for further treatment.
According to Mysteel consultancy analysts, the accident is expected to result in the loss of 1.2 million tonnes of coking coal output.
The underground longwall mine Moranbah North started operations in 1998 and is 88% owned by Anglo American, with the remaining 12% owned by joint venture partners.
Hard coking coal at Moranbah North is mined from the Goonyella Middle Seam primarily for export to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India Brazil and Europe.
The mine, which employs more than 600 people, is estimated to have a mine life of 15 years.
