Underground gas fire the fifth at Russell Vale mine in less than two years

The latest underground gas fire was the fifth at that mine in less than two years.

Sources said almost all of the Russell Vale workforce - up to 300 - had been stood down or sacked after a gas leak from a borehole caught fire underground on January 5.

After this fifth fire since April 2022 the Resources Regulator issued a prohibition order - first on the vicinity of the fire, then on the whole mine. The mine is now closed indefinitely until Wollongong Resources can show the regulator it can operate safely.

The January 5 gas fire underground happened in almost identical circumstances to another on May 27, 2023, when three workers were exposed to a large flame underground, and for which the miner was also ordered to stop work.

Another broke out in April 2022. Such fires are referred to as "frictional ignition incidents": methane released from the coal seam was ignited after sparks flew when the teeth of the mining machine hit hard rock among the coal.

The Resources Regulator told the Mercury there had been five underground fires at Russell Vale including the initial April 2022 incident.

"The NSW Resources Regulator has been notified of five frictional ignition events at this mine," a spokeswoman said.

"Each incident has been investigated. As with all investigations, the compliance history of an operator is considered."

Both the May 2023 and January 5 fires were quickly extinguished by trained workers, but the frequency has some of the workforce less than comfortable about safety.

What's clear is that underground fires, with the potential to set off a major explosion, are not as rare in this mine as they should be. Each time the mine has been allowed to open again, until the next gas leak ignited.

The January 5 fire, a spokesperson for the regulator said, was sparked from gas released from a borehole.

"It is understood that excess methane was released when mining through a gas drainage borehole which led to the ignition," the spokesperson said.

They could have been reading from the May 2023 incident report.

Then, also, a continuous miner exposed a borehole filled with gas which was ignited by sparks.

"The continuous miner operator was aware that there may have been boreholes in the vicinity of the area where he was working but did not know their precise location," the May 2023 report states.

"During the cutting process, the continuous miner exposed a borehole in the mid-section of the left rib adjacent to the face. Methane was released from the borehole and ignited.

"It was believed that the ignition source was rocky material coming into contact with the picks on the continuous miner's cutting drum. A large flame spread from the left side across the width of the heading, over the continuous miner and towards the workers.

"After the initial burst of flame, a fire along the roof continued to burn. The continuous miner operator cut power to the continuous miner. He released the continuous miner's water supply hose and applied water from it onto the flame.

"The flame was extinguished after about 30 seconds. The continuous miner was moved outbye [out and away] of the face and workers observed water and material being released from the borehole.

"The workers were not physically injured in the incident."

Coal industry veterans the Mercury spoke with said gas is always an issue - and miners know well about managing the risks.

With the Bulli seam of coal known to be notoriously gassy, it is perhaps the greatest challenge for any Illawarra mine worker - and the most dangerous. History shows the consequence of mishaps can be disastrous.

A continuous miner is accompanied by measures to prevent sparks igniting, including ventilation fans to keep the methane level in air away from the 5-14 per cent concentration at which it is flammable. Water is also sprayed to suppress dust and fire.

After the April 2022 fire, the Resources Regulator had taken a more active role in enforcement at Russell Vale.

"The Regulator has significantly increased its compliance and enforcement activities at the coal mine since an initial frictional ignition event in April 2022," the spokeswoman said.

"The Regulator's main priority is the safety of workers.

"The prohibition notice will remain in place until the Regulator is satisfied appropriate safety measures have been implemented to address the risk of frictional ignition events while mining for coal at the site."

But this active involvement has not prevented more underground fires, and the latest investigation is likely to demand better answers about how repeats will be prevented.

Before cutting an area of a coal an Authority to Mine (ATM) is produced, the Mining and Energy Union's district vice-president Bob Timbs said. This should contain the locations of hazards - such as pre-existing boreholes dug to release gas during a previous life of the mine.

"The ATM - when you're working, everything should be plotted on there: boreholes, any types of faults or anything that's on there so that the operator should be aware," he said.

"This one was aware that there was a borehole in the floor. It was liberating some gas ... and the gas was ignited by friction from the cutter head. That's how it started."

How this finishes is uncertain. It had been estimated 100 contract workers and 80 permanents lost their jobs, but the company had mentioned a figure of 300 to some involved - some made redundant, some "stood down".

Mr Timbs said he was pleased a union representative was involved in discussions between the mine and the regulator.

"The Mining and Energy Union's Industry Safety and Health Representative has been involved and has sought consultation or and has been consulted by the company and the regulator," he said.

"Obviously we'll do everything we can to make sure that when the mine reopens, that it reopens in a safe manner for our members."

The closure will also cost Wollongong Resources, which did not respond to questions from the Mercury.

One industry source said the company had no choice but to keep trying to mine as the cost of closing and rehabilitating the mine, when added to the expense of keeping it in "care and maintenance mode" for years while sorting out planning approvals, would run into the the "hundreds of millions" of dollars.

When the Russell Vale mine reopened in 2019 it had appeared Wollongong Resources may have turned a corner.

With its named changed from Wollongong Coal, more competent leadership in place, and a guarantee from Jindal still providing solvency, the mine got into the business of cutting coal to send to its parent company overseas after several years in limbo.

But sticking to the terms of its approvals has often been a challenge.

Wollongong Resources has had an active history with the Resources Regulator over its stop-start history of Russell Vale mine ownership.

For five of the past six years the company had been operating under the provisions of an Enforceable Undertaking agreed to by the Resources Regulator in 2018, after it had taken the miner to court over unpaid rent and administrative fees.

This started when the company was called Wollongong Coal, a few years after ousting Gujarat NRE from the name. By the time the five years of payments ended the miner was named Wollongong Resources, had been through multiple management top brass, and had a new logo on its website.

It remained a fully-owned subsidiary of the Jindal Steel and Power group, itself majority owned by Indian billionaire Naveen Jindal. All its coal output is shipped to India for use as coke in steelmaking.

The 2018 undertaking, which the Regulator accepted instead of further prosecution, included donations to charity, renting land to a preschool for $1, and paying its dues on time. These undertakings ended in early 2023.

This followed a similar situation a year earlier where Wollongong Coal was convicted over non-payment of rent and administrative fees.

In June 2018 the Regulator accepted the undertaking that Wollongong Coal would do the right thing despite its history of poor compliance.

Most coal mining companies are governed by the continuous disclosure rules of the Australian Securities Exchange, but Wollongong Coal (as it then was) took itself off the ASX in 2020.

Its shares were close to worthless anyway - they had sat at 0.8c for two years at that point - and couldn't be used to raise cash.

"WLC has been unable to use its listing on the ASX to raise fresh capital and to repair its balance sheet because of the low levels of liquidity and investor interest," chairman Milind Oza told the April 2021 AGM.

Plus, the miner would no longer be obligated to keep the market updated on any developments "material" to the share price. Being forced to stop mining by the regulator, and lay off scores of people, would fall into that category.

But Wollongong Resources' website contains no mention of the underground fires, the prohibition order from the Resources Regulator, or the mass layoffs.

When it delisted from the ASX there were assurances given that the public would be updated via the company's website about any significant events.

The last meeting of the mine's Community Consultation Committee mentioned on the miner's website was in August.

The Russell Vale mine's shutdown under the prohibition order threatens hundreds of families' income, and the contribution to the local economy they and the company makes.

Underground gas fires threaten much worse, as a region which has lived through disasters in Appin and Bulli know well.

These factors - plus five fires and three shutdowns in less than two years - haven't yet been enough to cause Wollongong Resources to give updates or transparency to the community.