Two former bosses are facing charges over a roof collapse at an underground mine in central Queensland in 2021 that killed a worker and seriously injured another.
Graham Ronald Dawson was killed while Henare Morgan was injured in a roof collapse at the Crinum underground mine in 2021. Worker Graham Ronald Dawson was killed while his colleague Henare Morgan was seriously injured in a roof collapse at the Crinum underground mine near Emerald in 2021.
Company Mastermyne Crinum Operations was found guilty of industrial manslaughter over the death of Mr Dawson and fined $7 million on May 1. Two former bosses at a central Queensland mine will face court this month on charges following the death of a worker and the serious injury of another in an underground mine collapse.
Graham Ronald Dawson, 62, and Henare Morgan, who was aged 25 at the time, were carrying out roof support works in a tunnel at the Crinum underground coal mine on September 14 when the rock around them collapsed and crushed the pair. Mr Dawson was killed, while Mr Morgan was trapped next to his colleague's body for hours before being rescued and flown to the hospital with crush injuries to his upper legs.
The mine's operator and employer, Mastermyne Crinum Operations, was investigated and charged by the Queensland Work Health and Safety Prosecutor in 2024, along with underground mine manager David Sykes and site senior executive Steven Livingstone-Blevins. The prosecutor alleges Mr Sykes made changes to the methods workers used to support the mine drift, and they were signed off by Mr Livingstone-Blevins four days before the collapse.
Court documents allege shotcrete, effectively sprayed concrete, was used without the combined use of support beams known as steel sets. It is alleged that Mr Livingstone-Blevins failed to identify the risks of abandoning the original method of strata support, which had been recommended by specialist expert advice, and he did not implement suitable controls to reduce the risk. The prosecutor alleges Mr Sykes, through work and activities under his control, exposed workers to an unacceptable level of risk.
The pair was charged with two counts each of failure to discharge a health and safety obligation causing death or grievous bodily harm under the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999. Mastermyne Crinum Operations was also charged with one count of failing to discharge a health and safety obligation causing death grievous bodily harm, which remains outstanding. No parties have had to enter pleas at this stage. It was Queensland's first recorded court sentence of industrial manslaughter.
Mr Dawson's daughters Katrina Edwards and Leesh Dawson delivered victim impact statements to the court, describing him as a beloved "Poppy" and close father, whose life had been cut short painfully. Speaking outside court, Ms Dawson said no amount of money would bring her father back and the most important thing "was best practice is always followed and no more miners die".
"The only thing that is going to bring any type of justice is to make sure laws are strengthened and that companies learn from this so that no-one else loses their life at work. ""Workplace incidents leave a lifelong impact on affected workers, and it is vital that they are taken seriously by authorities," he said. Mining and Metals Industry
Please follow us on Google to support us Gregory Mine Crinum Crinum Underground Mine Crinum Mine Underground Mine Graham Dawson Industrial Manslaughter Mastermyne Mine Death Workplace Accident Mine Fatal Bowen Basin Court Mine Steven Livingstone-Blevins David Sykes
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