Serious injury – Truck Collision

May 14, 2018 Tara

Incident date: 21 April 2018
Event: Serious injury at open cut coal mine
Location: Maules Creek Mine, Maules Creek NSW

Overview
A worker suffered serious injuries when the service truck he was driving and a large haul truck collided. The injured worker was transported to hospital for treatment. The NSW Resources
Regulator has commenced an investigation into the incident.

The mine
Maules Creek Coal Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Whitehaven Coal Limited, is the mine operator of the Maules Creek Mine. The mine is located at Therribri Road, Maules Creek in the Gunnadah Basin about 15 km northeast of Boggabri, NSW.

Maules Creek Mine is an open cut coal mine that produces thermal and metallurgical coals. Overburden and coal is mined by truck and excavator. The coal is transported by rail to Newcastle for export.

The incident
At about 7.58 am on 21 April 2018, a Caterpillar 773 service truck and a fully-laden Hitachi H5000 haul truck collided at a major four-way intersection on the mine haul road. The service truck suffered substantial damage. The operator, a labour-hire worker, aged 43, received serious injuries in the collision. The injured worker was transported by helicopter to hospital where he underwent medical treatment.

The Hitachi haul truck is one of the largest rigid-frame trucks used in NSW mines with a payload of 296 tonnes and gross vehicle weight of 500 tonnes. The Caterpillar service truck is used to transport diesel and refuel mobile and fixed plant in-pit. The service truck has a gross vehicle weight of 103 tonnes.

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