Coronado Curragh Fined $80,000 for Death of Queensland Miner Clark Peadon

Incident Overview

On Wednesday, 17 October 2025, Rockhampton Magistrates Court handed down a sentence in relation to the death of experienced miner Clark Peadon, 54, who was crushed by a dragline shoe while conducting cable relocation work at the Curragh North open-cut coal mine near Blackwater in November 2021. Coronado Curragh pleaded guilty to breaching workplace health and safety laws and was fined $80,000 plus $28,572.78 in court costs; no conviction was recorded.

Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) investigated the incident. Since Mr Peadon’s death, Coronado has invested $5 million in developing a Proximity Awareness System (PAS) to prevent similar incidents, which has been installed on three of the mine’s four draglines.

• Fatalities:
  • Deceased Worker:
  • The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) Queensland district president Mitch Hughes criticised the penalty as “appalling” given the loss of life, stating that while the court is limited by current legislation, harsher penalties are needed to deter companies from compromising worker safety
• Injuries:
  • None reported.

• Deceased Worker:
• The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) Queensland district president Mitch Hughes criticised the penalty as “appalling” given the loss of life, stating that while the court is limited by current legislation, harsher penalties are needed to deter companies from compromising worker safety