A worker has been found dead at the Anglo-American operated Grasstree Coal Mine in Queensland. Electrician Paul McGuire was discovered on the afternoon of Tuesday 6 May 2014, having apparently been overcome by gas. Coal is formed when buried organic material, principally wood, in heated and pressurized, forcing off hydrogen and oxygen (i.e. water) and leaving more-or-less pure carbon. Methane is formed by the decay of organic material within the coal. There is typically little pore-space within coal, but the methane can be trapped in a liquid form under pressure. Some countries have started to extract this gas as a fuel in its own right. The Grasstree Mine is known to have a high gas content within its coal, but has safety precautions in place and is not normally considered to have problems with the gas.
The entrance to the Grasstree Mine on Tuesday 6 May 2014. ABC.
Mining operations have been temporarily suspended at the mine, but are expected to be resumed later this week. An investigation into the incident will be mounted by the Queensland Mines Inspectorate on behalf of the coroner, and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, which represents workers at the mine, has announced that it will be carrying out its own, independent, investigation, the results of which will also be presented to the coroner.
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