Attempts are being made to seal one of Australia’s largest underground coal mines, as a fire burns out of control. Smoke from the Grosvenor mine is billowing across the small central Queensland town of Moranbah, and there are growing fears about the economic impact.
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00:00Burning for three days, smoke continues to pour from the underground Grosvenor coal mine
00:08at Moorinbar.
00:09We're blessed the fact that no one was injured.
00:11Methane gas was ignited on Saturday morning.
00:15All workers were safely evacuated from the site, which remains closed.
00:19Look, it's a dynamic situation.
00:21It's going to evolve over the course of the next few days and weeks and months.
00:27Right now our priority is safely bringing that mine under control.
00:30The Grosvenor mine opened in 2016, with an expected lifespan of more than 30 years.
00:38But the mine has a troubled past.
00:40In 2020, a methane explosion left five workers severely burned.
00:46Many are now asking, how could this happen again?
00:50I'm lost for words.
00:52Unfortunately for some of them, this is the second time.
00:55No one should ever experience it once, let alone twice.
00:57Crews are working to seal the mine and smother the underground blaze, a decision which could
01:03put the mine out of operation for a considerable amount of time.
01:07North Kanyala, which is up the road, had a similar event.
01:09It took them nearly four years to get back into that mine, to get back to mining.
01:14There are growing fears the Grosvenor mine may be closed permanently.
01:18Well, this old place will start to feel the real effect of it.
01:22It's not good.
01:23Not good at all, mate.
01:24Very emotional.
01:25I do know that workers are really mourning the idea of this coal mine being sealed permanently.
01:32The safety of the local community is not believed to be at risk from the smoke, with nearby
01:37air quality monitors returning a good reading.
01:41All of the expert advice at the moment is that's not currently a cause for concern.
01:45A community left to monitor the environmental impact, as they wait to see if they'll be
01:51dealt an economic blow.
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