Drill rig breaches highwall windrow

A drill rig at an open cut coal mine trammed over and through a highwall windrow resulting in the machine straddling the windrow with one track suspended over the edge of the highwall.

During the incident, on the night shift of 26 June 2018, a drill rig operator was repositioning a drill to a face row hole near a highwall. The operator was using the global positioning system (GPS) of the drill to set up over the hole when the rig travelled over and through the windrow. On straddling the windrow, the machine was no longer able to propel itself forward and came to a halt with the right hand track suspended over the highwall.

The operator was able to safely dismount the drill with no physical injuries and called for assistance.