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Two mine workers have been killed in incidents just 20 minutes apart in a horror day for the Queensland mining industry.
Rescue crews worked to locate a miner at the Mammoth coal mine at the Curragh site near Blackwater, about 200 kilometres west of Rockhampton, after a roof collapsed about 1 kilometre from the underground mine’s entrance about 3pm on Friday.
A Queensland Police spokesman said a 59-year-old Banya man’s body was recovered about 4.30am on Sunday.
Three workers have been killed at Coronado’s Curragh coal mine since 2020.Credit: Coronado
A colleague who was also caught up in the collapse was located and has since been released from hospital.
Separately, about 240 kilometres north, another man was killed at a small-scale gold operation at Mount Britton, south-west of Mackay, about 2.40pm on Friday.
The man was reportedly struck by a large boulder. Police said he was understood to have been working alone at the site at the time.
“The man was treated on the scene after sustaining life-threatening injuries but was declared deceased a short time later,” a police spokesman said.
Confirming the deaths late on Saturday, Acting Queensland Mines Minister Tony Perrett said he wanted lessons to be learnt to prevent similar deaths in the future.
“This is a devastating time for Queensland’s mining communities. My heartfelt condolences go out to the families, friends and colleagues of both workers,” Perrett said.
“These are tragic reminders of the risks faced by those who work in our resources sector.”
Perrett said he expected “full and thorough” investigations into both incidents.
It was the third fatality at the Curragh mine, operated by Coronado, this decade after the deaths of two men, Donald Rabbit and Clark Peadon.
In October 2025 – days before another worker was injured – Coronado was fined $80,000, with court costs of almost $30,000, over Peadon’s 2021 death.
Coronado chief executive Douglas Thompson said the company was “deeply saddened” by the death.
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“[Coronado] is providing all support to the contracted coal mine operator, Mammoth Underground Mine Management Pty Ltd, which is currently working with the relevant authorities at the site to understand the cause of the incident,” he said.
A spokesperson for Mammoth said on-site counselling had been offered to workers.
“The safety and wellbeing of everyone at the mine is our most important priority, and we will continue to support all Mammoth personnel who are affected by the incident,” the spokesperson said.
“A second worker at the site of the incident was unharmed. He was taken to hospital as a precaution and has been released.”
A Resources Safety and Health Queensland spokesperson said any loss of life in mining operations was unacceptable.
“RSHQ will conduct a thorough investigation into the nature and cause of this incident,” the spokesperson said.
The Curragh mine site covers about 256 square kilometres across two separate mines and has been in operation since 1983.
The oldest part of the site includes a large open-cut mine, but the operation expanded to include the underground mine, where operations began in December 2024.
International coal company Coronado Global Resources bought the operation in 2018.
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