Australia’s QCoal says worker dies at coking coal mine

Australia’s QCoal said on Saturday a worker had died at its Byerwen coking coal mine in the northeastern state of Queensland, but gave no further details.

Brisbane-based QCoal runs the open-cut mine in the Bowen Basin, of which it owns 85%, in a joint venture with Japan’s JFE Steel Corp.

“QCoal sadly confirms there has been a fatality … this morning,” it said in a statement. It was unclear if the mine, which produces up to 10 million tonnes of coking coal a year, was still operating.

A fire in June at Anglo American’s Moranbah coal mine in the region helped underpin prices for the steel-making ingredient.

(By Melanie Burton; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)