Underground workers at Fosterville Gold Mine in Central Victoria were evacuated after a 2.5 magnitude seismic event this morning.
Key points:
- It is the largest seismic event at the mine since monitoring technology was installed in 2019
- Management says the events are common and that workers know what to do when they occur
- Operations have resumed at the mine
About 80 workers heard rocks fallings and loud bangs at 8:25am.
On the ground, staff heard buildings rattling and a sharp bang.
No-one was hurt.
Fosterville, which is owned by Agnico Eagle Mines, is the largest gold producer in Victoria and is located 20 kilometres north-east of Bendigo.
General manager Lance Faulkner said mine workers were encouraged to contact their families to let them know they were safe.
“In this instance, we’ve been able to establish that the location of the event was over a kilometre below the surface and hundreds of metres away from our underground workings,” he said.
Mr Faulkner said it was the largest seismic event since a monitoring system was installed in 2019.
“The next highest was at magnitude two level in the middle of last year,” he said.
“Mine-induced seismic events are not uncommon, and they occur when there’s a redistribution of stress and that occurs as the mine advances.
“Workers have knowledge of the events, know what we expect from them and what they have to do.
Operations have resumed.
