Coal (Thermal and Metallurgical)
Australia’s contract mining sector is undergoing a quiet revolution—one that could fundamentally reshape the relationship between contractors and mine owners.
A new study has shown that bioleaching can strip more than 90% of sulphur and iron from coal waste, neutralising its acid-generating potential and creating a saleable by-product.
A series of recent mine safety incidents in New South Wales and Queensland has reinforced ongoing concerns about worker safety in both underground and surface coal operations.
Queensland’s Coal Mines Inspectorate has warned that coal mining operations are continuing to report repeat safety incidents, with fatigue, dust exposure, fires on mobile equipment, and falls from plant access systems among the most common issues identified in its September 2025 incident periodical.
It’s not every day a water cart performs a wheelie on a mine stand—but when it does, the lessons for mechanical engineering and site safety are hard to ignore.
Unexpected piezometer trends in a tailings dam triggered an investigation that uncovered an overlooked variable in dissipation testing – the type of saturation fluid.
When Bengalla Mining Company lost tyre fitter Quinten Moore in 2018, the tragedy forced a deep reckoning: could leadership and supervision be strengthened to ensure safer outcomes? For Bengalla, the answer was not only yes, but essential.
When a Queensland flood swallowed a dragline and left an underground portal 60 metres underwater, Wade Ludlow knew mine levee design had to change.
It’s not every day you hear about two massive shafts being sunk side by side in Australian coal country, each with its own design, equipment, and risks.
When Barry McKay walked into Ashton Coal and saw machines cutting stone instead of coal, he knew something had to change.
