Worker dies at Newmont’s Tanami gold mine

The Victorian Government has issued Victory Minerals an infringement notice for failing to report a fire for more than two days at its Ballarat gold mine located in Mount Clear.

McGrathNicol restructuring partners Shaun Fraser and Jonathan Henry have cut Tahmoor Coal’s workforce by more than 70%, making 238 employees redundant following their initial assessment of the mine as liquidators.Workers affected by the cuts have been offered a limited period of unpaid leave.“The Tahmoor mine is a quality asset that has unfortunately been affected by issues facing the broader GFG Group and has lacked the capital necessary to continue mining operations,” Mr Fraser said.Tahmoor Coal entered voluntary administration in February, just hours after creditors led by Coal Mines Insurance moved to force the mine into liquidation over unpaid debts, including $4.7m in insurance premiums. Financial statements for FY24 were also bought before the court, showing unpaid creditor claims that exceeded $18.9m.The administration gave Sanjeev Gupta more time to pursue an alternative pathway for the idle mine, adding to pressure across his Australian operations following administrations involving other GFG-linked assets.According to the Mining and Energy Union, GFG Alliance had at the time rejected a $350m purchase offer from a consortium led by the site’s main contractor RStar, the employer of 250 of the 500 Tahmoor workers who were initially stood down without pay while the mine was idle.The liquidators have confirmed that they are urgently seeking expressions of interest for the Tahmoor mine in a sale process that commenced this week and that there is significant interest from several parties familiar with the mine.

The Queensland Government is reforming its resources safety framework after an independent review found Resources Safety and Health Queensland’s (RSHQ) governance to be lacking.The Resources Safety and Health Queensland and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 would implement the Queensland Government’s response to the 2025 review, which was conducted by The University of Queensland.The review, prepared by Professor Susan Johnston, found serious weaknesses in RSHQ’s governance, confusion around roles and a lack of clear accountability.The legislation proposes to address these deficiencies by establishing an independent skills-based Governing Board to strengthen oversight and accountability, streamline advisory structures and remove duplication.It will also transfer the statutory functions of the Commissioner for RSHQ to the new board to provide clearer lines of responsibility and stronger accountability.Increasing the coal mining safety and health advisory committee and the mining safety and health advisory committee functions to provide independent advice and enhance resources safety and health policy is also a target.Queensland Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dale Last says the review’s findings were sobering.“Every worker deserves to make it home safe to their family,” he said.According to SafeWork Australia, Queensland had the highest number of workplace deaths in 2024 out of all Australian states, accounting for 53 deaths out of 188.In the first week of January this year, two mine workers were killed in separate incidents at Mammoth underground coal mine and a gold operation near Nebo, southwest of Mackay.“The legislation we’ve introduced is making Queensland safer for every mine worker and will restore confidence in the resources safety framework,” Minister Last said.The bill also reforms the funding model for the land access ombudsman (LAO). The LAO will continue to be funded by the Queensland Government, with revised arrangements linking the LAO advisory council to Coexistence Queensland and repealing the industry levy and cost recovery funding model.“The Queensland Government wants to see more investment in Queensland’s resources sector which is why we will repeal legislation that would put the onus on mining companies to fund the LAO, removing unnecessary red tape and financial burden,” Minister Last said.“We are delivering a better lifestyle through a stronger economy by reducing industry costs so mining companies can get on with delivering jobs for Queenslanders.”

Sandvik has appointed Patrick Murphy as mining business area president, effective July 1.Mr Murphy joined Sandvik in 2001 and has a strong background from various roles within the mining business area, working in Canada, Australia, India, Finland and the US.Prior to his current role as rotary drilling president, he headed the underground drilling division as well as the rock drills and technologies division.“Patrick Murphy is an experienced international leader with a strong track record and proven leadership skills from his previous roles within Sandvik,” Sandvik president and chief executive Stefan Widing said.“With his extensive knowledge of Sandvik and deep mining industry expertise, I’m confident that he will be a great president of the mining business area.”Mr Murphy succeeds Mats Eriksson, who is stepping down from the role ahead of his planned retirement in 2027.