Strongman Mine, Greymouth, Grey District, West Coast Region, New Zealandi

Regional Level Types
Strongman Mine	Mine
Greymouth	- not defined -
Grey District	District
West Coast Region	Region
New Zealand	Country

Started as the Strongman Mine by the New Zealand government as a state owned mine in 1939 and until 1967 when it closed, it was considered New Zealand's largest underground coal mine. It was re-opened as Strongman 2 in 1994, mainly as an open pit operation, until this closed in 2005. The mine is 15 kilometres north-east of Greymouth, 600 metres above sea level in the Paparoa Ranges, with views over the coast. The area receives around 2.5 metres of rainfall every year.

The mine had an impeccable safety record until 1967. However, as is often the case with coal mines in the area, a methane explosion was only a matter of time. Until 2014, a total of 430 men have been killed in the region from mining accidents.

Just after 10:00 am on the 19th January 1967, an explosion sent a fireball through a section of the workings called Greens No. 2 Rise, killing nine men. Considering there were 240 men working underground at the time, the death toll could have been much worse, except the fireball soon encountered a wet patch in the mine, and was extinguished.

The subsequent Royal Commission, determined a shot hole had been fired, breaking into old workings with a build-up of methane gas, triggering an explosion. Five rescuers received the British Empire medal for bravery. The government paid 250 000 pounds in total compensation to victim families. The mine closed after the explosion. The mine entrance portico remains. A memorial to the victims can be found along State Highway 6, north of Greymouth.

As Strongman 2, the mine re-opened in 1994, initially with shallow underground workings, then as an open pit. It was owned by state controlled Solid Energy, contracting mining to Geotech and Doug Hood Mining, local Greymouth mining companies, accessing near surface hard coking coal, not mined during the first period of activity. Coal was trucked to the Rapahoe coal handling facility, then by train to the Lyttelton port near Christchurch.

The open pit is immediately north-east of the original Strongman underground mine entrance, on the ridge between the 10 Mile Creek and 9 Mile Creek catchments. Like most coal deposits in the region, the seams are very gaseous, and prone to spontaneous combustion. There are numerous pictures on the internet of various parts of the mine on fire, not a problem most gold, iron ore etc. miners need to be faced with. The mine fire started in August 1998, and in 2014 was still going, despite Solid Energy and Geotech, injecting clay into the workings, starving the fire of oxygen, and removing coal ahead of the fire. Neighbouring vegetation has been burned, leading to a major landslip.

Solid Energy went into liquidation in 2015 after the John Key's government encouraged them to borrow heavily to develop lignite into transportation fuel. The Strongman Mine was purchased shortly after by Birchfield Coal Mines Ltd,a local family owned mining business. A look on their website in 2017 fails to mention the mine.

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