The man, who was changing the cutting picks on a longwall mining machine, was hit by coal falling off the face they had been cutting. The incident happened on Wednesday, March 26 at the Mt Kembla mining operation.

The NSW Resources Regulator suspended underground work at Dendrobium, issuing a prohibition notice until it was satisfied workers could safely get back on the job the next day.

It’s understood the incident was first notified by the mine as “bruising” but it was later discovered the worker had a spinal fracture.

“The worker was struck by coal falling off the coal face while changing cutting picks on the longwall shearer,” a spokesman for the Resources Regulator said.

“The worker underwent x-rays after receiving physiotherapy, which identified a spinal fracture.

“An inspector attended the mine and inspected the underground scene after the incident was reported to the Regulator.

“This resulted in the issue of a notice prohibiting the use of the longwall shearer to cut coal or stone and completion of the frictional ignition checks and pick replacement.”

Despite the seriousness of the incident, South32 on Thursday would not give much detail, and in response to questions did not mention the spinal fracture or the shutdown.

“An incident occurred on Wednesday 26 March at our Dendrobium mine where an employee was injured,” a spokesman said. “The employee was assessed and is now recovering at home.”

The worker was treated by a physiotherapist and did not go to hospital, South32 said.

Work resumed the following day after the Regulator was satisfied South32 had complied with the directions in the prohibition notice.

This included an investigation of the incident by South32, reviewing and updating work procedures, and retraining of workers.

“NSW has a comprehensive regulatory scheme in place and we expect it to be followed at all times,” the spokesman said.