Underground mine explosion in Queensland at Moura No. 4.

At about 11:05 a.m. on July 16, 1986, an explosion occurred in Moura No. 4 Underground Mine in Central Queensland, Australia. That explosion. later known as “Moura No. 4 mine disaster,” claimed the lives of 12 miners who were extracting pillars in the Main Dips Section. Their bodies were finally recovered on July 23, 1986, after an extensive recovery operation.

An interview with a member of the Moura No. 4 rescue team sheds light on the search for survivors

In 2016, ABC News interviewed Lester Anderson, a member of the Moura No. 4 mines rescue team sent underground in the hours following the explosion to search for survivors.

The inquiry into the fatal mining disaster was held in Rockhampton, conducted before the Mining Warden and four persons having practical mining knowledge.

The inquiry commenced on February 9, 1987, and closed on February 27, 1987. Evidence presented to the inquiry showed that the upper part of the seven-meter thick seam was being worked and that the strata between the seam worked and the seam approximately sixty meters above it consisted mainly of massive bands of sandstone.

The seam was described by witnesses as “fairly gassy.”

The inquiry found that the mine was well-ventilated and stone dusted, and return airways were continuously monitored for carbon monoxide and methane. Methane detecting instruments were also available to the section’s deputies.

The inquiry found that a roof fall had occurred in the goaf (that part of a mine from which the mineral has been partially or wholly removed) and that the wind blast from the fall blew a mixture of methane, air, and coal dust into the working area.

An explosive atmosphere developed in the working area and in particular around the deputy’s flame safety lamp.

An ignition occurred, creating a violent explosion which caused extensive damage throughout the section.

The explosion was quenched by the presence of a water barrier in the belt roadway and substantial quantities of water in swilleys (a thickening or swelling out of a coal-seam over a limited area) in other roadways.

Some eight possible sources of ignition were considered. The inquiry considered that the flame safety lamp, although properly assembled, was the most likely source of ignition.

A number of recommendations were made by the members of the inquiry, the most important of these being that flame safety lamps be prohibited from use in underground coal mines in Queensland, subject to limited exceptions.

What recommendations resulted from the Moura mine disaster? 

Other recommendations following the Moura No. 4 mine disaster included: research into frictional ignition, research into methane ignitions by mine equipment, formalization of training standards in the industry, the establishment of emergency procedures surrounding: explosion open fire, self-heating—spontaneous combustion and inundations, supply of gas analysis equipment in mines rescue stations to evaluate bag samples, the establishment of Simtars (In Queensland, Simtars is the Safety in Mines Testing and Research Station), an autonomous unit within the Department reporting to the Mines Minister or the Director-General, establishment of committee to investigate inertization of mines, establishment of continuous monitoring systems for mine atmospheres, defined approval for pillar management and the continuous evaluation and monitoring of international best practices regarding mine safety in Queensland.