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Report - Coal - uncontrolled movement of ground or strata - July 2025 to December 2025

This report provides the findings of an assessment program at surface coal mines focussing on the principal hazard ground or strata failure.

Sector Coal - surface
Principal hazard management plan Ground or strata failure
Material unwanted event Uncontrolled movement of ground or strata underground
Topic Ground or strata failure surface

Operation type assessed

Operation type Number of mines assessed
Surface 22
Total 22

Criteria assessed

Critical control Criteria
The mine (layout, sequence, method and support) is designed to geotechnical, strata and hydrogeological conditions
  1. How does the mine verify they are accurately executing design and updating design for identified hazards?
Dump design (and execution)
  1. Do workers understand the hazards and controls associated with dump design and execution?
  2. Review dump design checklists – are they being completed, implemented and understood by the workers?
Drill and blast management
  1. How do workers ensure that drilling and blasting is conducted safely with regards to current ground conditions and current design?
Water management system
  1. Verify that the water management system is installed and maintained as per the design intent?
Workers are restricted / removed from high-risk areas
  1. Do workers and supervisors understand the systems in place to restrict or remove people from high-risk areas?
  2. Does the mine effectively identify and exclude workers from areas with geotechnical hazards?

Findings with issues identified - surface

Critical control Findings of concern Findings of contravention Total findings with issues
The mine (layout, sequence, method and support) is designed to geotechnical, strata and hydrogeological conditions

-

-

-
Dump design (and execution)

-

1

1
Drill and blast management

-

-

-
Water management system

-

-

-
Workers are restricted / removed from high-risk areas

1

-

1
Total findings with issues

1

1

2
Other topic findings – not related to ground or strata failure

-

1

1

Compliance notice type issues during the program

Notice type Notices  Percentage of notices issued
WHS(MPS)A s23 notice of concerns 1 50%
WHSA s191 improvement notice 1 50%
WHSA s195 prohibition notice 0 0%
Total 2 100%

Note: This data represents all notices issued during the program and may include notices other than ground or strata failure topics.

Recommendations

Operators of surface coal mines should review their site principal hazard ground or strata failure management plan and the critical controls assessed for the topic of ground or strata failure surface:

  • Review the site principal hazard ground or strata failure management plan to ensure:
    • Controls measures are adequately identified in the plan
    • Maintain operational functionality of mobile plant GPS guidance systems to ensure dump design criteria is achieved
    • Workers are restricted or removed from areas identified as a high risk of ground or strata failure

References

Program fact sheet

Principal hazard - ground or strata failure (surface) (PDF, 127.3 KB)

Recent related safety bulletins

Failure of highwalls, low walls and dumps (PDF, 405.77 KB)