A spokesperson for Anglo American said:
“Anglo American notes the decision of the Board of Inquiry to delay further hearings until the Regulator’s investigation into the incident that occurred on 6 May 2020 at Grosvenor Mine is completed.
“This decision will ensure due process occurs and a thorough examination of relevant issues can be undertaken in an appropriate way, in line with well-established legal principles.
“Anglo American has cooperated fully and transparently with the Board of Inquiry, to assist the Board in meeting its Terms of Reference. We will continue to constructively respond to the Board’s requests for technical and expert evidence as the Regulator’s investigation continues.
“We continue to ensure that relevant learnings, including from the investigations underway and the Board of Inquiry, are captured and actioned within our business as information becomes available.”**
Additional information:
**In previous statements, Anglo American has outlined steps being taken to address learnings from the 6 May 2020 incident and further enhance safety controls in place across its mines. These include:
- Initiating a review of our controls to prevent a methane ignition in our underground mines and assessing all possible technology options
- Commencing a pilot study at our Moranbah North mine to assess the use of pressure sensors to remove power from the longwall face as an additional control if a significant overpressure event occurs. Whilst pressure sensors are already in use today, across the industry they have not been integrated for this particular purpose
- Bolstering of our plans for remote operation in our underground mines, including the purchase of new longwall equipment at Grosvenor Mine, which will provide us with the opportunity to assess the best available technology to further expedite our automation and technology journey
- Establishing a Met Coal Analytics Centre, which will bring together operational, engineering and data science experts to look at major challenges and opportunities for the future of our mines. The first priority for this centre will be in underground operations gas and ventilation management
- Implementing an enhanced Learning from Incidents process to ensure relevant learning opportunities from all incidents are automatically distributed across our mine sites and accessible to our workforce
- Announcing a review of the existing bonus structures at our sites with input from our workforce, to look at how we can focus on leading indicators, in line with Anglo American’s global Elimination of Fatalities program.
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