Anglo American has proactively released a detailed animation of a crane incident at one of its Bowen Basin mine sites to help drive safer decisions across the industry through transparency and sharing lessons learned.
The video reconstructs a 40-tonne contractor crane rollover at Grosvenor Mine in December 2024 — revealing how each link in the decision chain offers lessons for others to learn from.
Grosvenor Mine general manager Shane McDowall said the decision to share the detailed findings publicly reflected Anglo American’s commitment to a strong, proactive safety culture.
“The most important thing to come out of the mine is the miner,” he said.
“Everyone deserves to go home safely and that’s why we’re being open about what went wrong. This incident was preventable and we want others to learn from it.”
This serious high-potential incident occurred during crane assembly operations about 9.30am on 10 December 2024.
A 40-tonne Franna crane rolled over while relocating a 20-tonne crawler track. The crane was operating at more than 250% of its rated capacity at the time it rolled.
As the crane articulated around a corner, the track load began to swing, creating a pendulum effect that caused the crane to tip onto its side.
A spotter narrowly escaped harm as the crane toppled. The crane boom came dangerously close to a nearby 280-tonne crawler crane but fortunately remained attached to the load, avoiding secondary impact.
The investigation identified several key contributing factors, including safety alarms being overridden, and the lift being misclassified as ‘routine’ instead of ‘critical’ despite risk and terrain changes between jobs.
Since the incident, the contractor has implemented real-time alerts for override events and developed a log viewer to support accurate event interpretation and review.
All AT40 Franna cranes are now equipped with a safety radar fitted to dynamically map safe working zones in real time, allowing operators to instantly see how boom extension, articulation and terrain affect lift capacity.
Mr McDowall said the incident highlighted areas for improvement in planning, supervision, change management and safety practices.
“This wasn’t just one poor decision but rather a series of critical failures,” he said.
“By showing the chain of decisions that led to the rollover, we’re helping people understand how small shortcuts and missed steps can build into something potentially catastrophic.
“We’ve taken a hard look at every contributing factor — not to assign blame, but to ensure we embed the right behaviours, controls and conversations before a lift even begins.
“Our goal is for this video to be used by other operators, contractors and companies to spark honest discussions about safety.
“These lessons don’t just belong to us; they belong to everyone who works in this industry.”
Since the incident, Anglo American has introduced several improvements, including:
- Stronger contractor change-management requirements
- Updated procedures for lift classification and supervision
- Improved training on crane stability, terrain risk and load management
- Increased in-field leadership oversight for high-risk lifts
Mr McDowall said a strong safety culture required active accountability, rigorous oversight, and uncompromising compliance with known controls.
“The video closes with a powerful call to action: check your load data, lift classification, ground conditions and exclusion zones before you start the job,” he said.
“Safety is everyone’s responsibility. Every job. Every time.”
The five-minute safety animation is available on Anglo American Australia and Resources Safety and Health Queensland websites and social channels.
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Photos and vision here.