“In the last week we received the positive news that one of our five injured colleagues was released from hospital, and our other four colleagues are now in a stable condition as they continue to be treated in the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. We are continuing to work closely with One Key to support our colleagues and their families as much as possible during this time.

“We have also advised our Grosvenor production crews that we are planning for them to undertake alternate duties until early July. We will not resume mining until we know it is safe to do so.

“The safety of our people is what is most important, and through our own expert investigation team and other inquiries underway, we know we will learn more to help us to improve the management of methane and safety in underground mining. We will cooperate fully with the Queensland Government’s Board of Inquiry. We want to understand why this devastating incident happened, and we understand that everyone else does too.

“Over the last few days we commenced ‘Stop for Safety’ sessions across all our sites, to reflect on the incident at Grosvenor, have a broader discussion around our safety plans and encouraged our workforce to access the support services we have in place if they need them.

“As part of our respond to COVID-19, we have also extended our confidential counselling service, provided by Gryphon Psychology, to community members in the Moranbah, Middlemount, and Moura areas until 31 July. You don’t have to work for Anglo American to access this free service, and we encourage anyone seeking support to call 1800 056 076 to make an appointment.”