The NSW Resources Regulator has lifted a prohibition notice issued to South32’s Illawarra Coal-run Appin Colliery following a ventilation fan failure last week.
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The prohibition notice, issued on October 26 after an incident at the mine where methane levels exceeded legislated limits, was replaced with an improvement notice on Friday.
The improvement notice requires South32 to “put in place further changes and additional measures identified as part of the regulator’s review”, a Department of Industry spokeswoman said.
Regulator staff inspected the underground mine on Thursday and completed a review of risk controls.
“The regulator is satisfied South32 has reviewed its critical risk control measures and now has appropriate systems in place to manage risks associated with methane gas and ventilation,” she said.
Those systems include a new withdrawal trigger action response plan (TARP), which provides real-time monitoring of gas “to ensure workers are appropriately withdrawn from all parts of the mine in response to ventilation failures and methane gas”.
The lifting of the prohibition notice allows South32 to restart its mining operations, but the spokeswoman said the regulator would continue to keep an eye on gas monitoring data, the implementation of the TARPs and other controls, as well as compliance with the improvement notice.
“Should any further non-compliance be detected at the mine, the regulator will act swiftly and take further regulatory action,” she said.