A MINE collapse that crippled a Latrobe Valley power station in 2007 was caused by slack and inadequate safety precautions, according to a recent report.
An 80-metre high wall of the Yallourn mine collapsed in November 2007, causing the Latrobe River to fill the open-cut mine two billion litres of water. The collapse also forced the Yallourn power station, one of the biggest sources of electricity in Victoria, to shut most of its generators while emergency repairs were done.
In a recent report, investigator, Tim Sullivan, revealed that expert consultants failed to pick up “obvious signs” of the mine’s imminent failure.
According to Sullivan, large cracks appeared on the mine’s wall and large amounts of water were gushing into the site the day before the incident. Despite this, the consultants concluded that "catastrophic failure was unlikely".
Sullivan also identified a number of other issues that were not made public, which he suggests may have been to ‘cut corners’.
Energy Minister, Peter Batchelor, says the Government is auditing all coal mines and improving regional planning to prevent similar incidents occurring in the future.
The Government is also establishing an expert technical review board and an independent body to handle groundwater, and is boosting the expertise of the Department of Primary Industries.
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