Dangerous incident report

November 1, 2017 Tara

Dangerous incident

Summary: In an underground metal mine, a diamond drill rig was coring a new hole that was right on top of a resin bolt. While drilling, the drill offsider saw a flash which was thought to be a gas fire. He yelled out to the drill operator, the operator stopped drilling and the offsider pointed the water hoses to the hole. The driller then contacted the supervisor. The supervisor came and looked at the hole. At no point did the gas alarm go off with the gas monitor about 1 m from the hole.
Recommendations to industry: Hazard: chemical reaction
Risk: harm to people from a flammable gas fire/explosion.
Recommendations:
  • Review procedures for drilling into a hard strata where there is potential for gas.
  • Review should consider ‘wet hole’ drill as a control for reducing the drill tip temperature.
  • Drill operator training should include any detected gas comes from a reservoir of an unknown quantity

A gas fire underground is a dangerous incident – it requires scene preservation and immediate notification. For guidance on reporting refer to the notification of incident and injury guide.

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