An investigation is underway into the precise cause of the fatal weekend accident at the mine, Glencore said in a statement.

“Shortly before midnight [on Saturday], a female contractor was killed when the light vehicle she was driving was involved in a collision with a dump truck,” a company spokesman told ILN.

“The woman, an operator at the mine, died at the scene.

“The truck driver was taken to Singleton Hospital suffering shock.

“Our primary concern is for the safety, care and welfare of our employees and we are providing all possible support for the families of the people involved in the incident.”

Staff are being offered counselling, the company said.

The director-general of the NSW Department of Planning recently approved the proposed extension of the Narama open cut operations at the western end of its Ravensworth complex – with conditions.

The Narama West operations would use the existing operational workforce and equipment from the Narama mining area to optimise coal resource recovery in the mine, the director-general said.

“The modification would allow the recovery of an additional 2.7 million tonnes of ROM coal, provide continuing state and commonwealth royalties and tax income, and efficiently recover resources that would otherwise be sterilised,” he said.

“Given these benefits, and the limited environmental impacts predicted, the department is satisfied that the proposed modification would have positive socio-economic outcomes.”