Western Australia appoints new mine and petroleum safety inspectors (08 May 2013)
Additional safety inspectors will be hired to monitor the mining industry in Western Australia, the state’s Government has announced. This follows media exposure of significant environmental and health and safety violations by mining companies alongside insufficient oversight by the state government and agencies.
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Pike River Coal found guilty over 2010 New Zealand coal mine disaster (25 April 2013)
Pike River Coal company has been found guilty on all nine health and safety charges laid after the 2010 mine disaster which killed 29 workers. New Zealand district court judge Jane Farish found the company responsible for fundamental safety breaches. Pike River Coal faces fines of up to $2.25m but the company is currently in receivership and owes secured creditors $20m.
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New Zealand linemen injured in pylon flash explosion (22 April 2013)
Two men are recovering from burns after the power pylon they were working on exploded, cutting electricity to nearly 800 homes in Warkworth, north of Auckland, New Zealand, on April 22. The Electrix employees were in a cherry picker and police said the men appeared to have been injured in a flash explosion that left them both with burns to the face and neck.
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Woodside Petroleum cancels $40bn Australia onshore LNG project (12 April 2013)
Australia's second biggest oil company, Woodside Petroleum, has shelved a $40bn (£26bn) proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Western Australia, which would have processed gas from the Browse Basin into LNG for export to Asian utilities. The company said it would look into alternatives including a floating liquefied natural gas facility instead.
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Australian scientists develop low-cost CCS technology (14 March 2013)
Scientists from Monash University and Australia's national science agency CSIRO have announced details of new developments in photosensitive metal organic frameworks (MOFs) that have the potential to provide cost-effective new tools to capture, store and recycle carbon dioxide.
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Australian coal industry introduces safety improvement database (08 March 2013)
Ongoing issues relating to safety have been flagged up a number of times in recent years. A recent example was when Queensland’s Commissioner for Mine Safety, Stewart Bell, warned of a deterioration in safety standards in the state’s coal mines, saying in his 2012 report: “We have seen a disturbing rise in dangerous behaviour in underground coal mines”.
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China lithium plant explosion claims second fatality (15 January 2013)
Australian lithium producer Galaxy Resources confirmed on January 15 that a second worker has died from his injuries following the November 22 incident at its Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant in China, when an explosion killed one worker immediately and seriously injured others.
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Officials support new Australian ammonium nitrate plant, despite explosion fears (19 December 2012)
ABC TV reports that the Newcastle Port Corporation is backing plans for another ammonium nitrate plant in the city, despite fears about the potential for a catastrophic explosion. Incitec Pivot will wait two years before deciding if it presses ahead with plans for a $650 million ammonium nitrate plant on Newcastle's Kooragang Island.
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Queensland Mines Inspectorate reports mixed safety performance in 2011-12 (10 December 2012)
The Queensland Mines Inspectorate Annual Performance Report showed a decrease in the number of deaths on site, dropping from three in FY2010-11 to one in 2011-12. The report also detailed the considerable advisory and support role QMI has provided to New Zealand following the Pike River disaster in 2010.
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New Zealand official report says Pike River mine disaster 'preventable' (05 November 2012)
A gas blast at a mine in New Zealand that killed 29 workers was preventable, an investigation has found, with multiple warnings ignored. Health and safety systems at the Pike River mine were inadequate, and reports of excessive methane levels were "not heeded".
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