Operational and technology trends
Changes and challenges in the Queensland Coal Industry – a Geologist’s perspective
Photo: Peter Turnbull
David Green, Chair, Bowen Basin Geologists Group
W
hat has changed in the Queensland coal industry in the last 40 years? David Green has participated as a geologist over that time and for the last six years has been the Chair of the Bowen Basin Geologists Group (BBGG), which organises the Bowen Basin Symposium every five years. He has observed numerous developments over those years, including substantial improvements to safety in exploration and mining, shifts from manual recording and interpretation of data to the use of computer techniques, the increasing use of automation and remote techniques, as well as the changing attitudes towards coal. He reflects on some of those changes in this article.
The BBGG was established in 1985, the same year as the first Bowen Basin Symposium (BBS) was held. These were initiated as an opportunity for coal geologists working in the Bowen Basin to get together to share the latest developments and technologies, as well as to socialise with colleagues across the mine sites. The BBGG has long been recognised as the primary interest group for coal geoscientists and associated personnel who study, explore, evaluate and mine the occurrence of coal by
those who work throughout the Bowen and other basins in Queensland. The BBS is always a milestone event for presentation and discussion about the results of exploration, mine development and research undertaken in the previous five years. After many years of operating as an independent, informal interest group, the BBGG became a part of the Geological Society of Australia (GSA) Coal Geology Specialist Group (CGG) in 2018.
Whilst the BBGG and BBS continue to operate in a similar manner, a great deal has changed since they started. We are all familiar with how the coal industry has changed from being seen as a reliable contributor to Australia’s energy sector, export earnings and job market, to being held 'responsible' for climate change. Instead of community support, there is now increasing pressure being applied to every facet of a coal project, from financing to approvals to community attitudes, in order to stop mining and using coal. BBMC Yearbook 2021
105
