Mining and industrial supplier AC Whalan will work with CSIRO to research and develop the system, which is expected to replace corrosive steel piping in many coal mines.

The system will initially be used for two mining applications: coal seam gas drainage and the supply of water from the surface to underground equipment.

AC Whalan factory manager Philip Thicthener said the product was still being designed and developed, but the fibre composite had already been tested in corrosive environments and proved effective.

He said the product would be the first of its kind in the coal mining industry and could also be made to be fire retardant and anti-static.

“We are working on developing a unique release mechanism for the pipes to give miners the ability to install and remove the pipe quickly, which will have occupational health and safety benefits for the miners,” he said.

Thicthener said a big advantage of the composite material was that it was lightweight and had corrosion resistance.

“Steel piping will usually last for a number of months or a year – this product will be built to last four to five times longer, which means longer scheduling times between maintenance,” he said.

He said while conventional steel piping has to be removed, the fibreglass composite material would be cut up by the shearer and removed at the wash plant, not affecting the purity of the coal.

Queensland Deputy Premier Anna Bligh recently announced a $A335,000 grant towards the project under the Queensland Government's Research-Industry Partnerships Program.

Dr Philip Teakle is the project leader for CSIRO and said for a total cash and in-kind investment of $802,000 over two years, the economic benefit was estimated at approximately $1 million a year in the first few years after market entry, growing to $16 million a year after 15 years.

“This project has the potential to lead to other product developments, in an industry evolving rapidly towards new alternative applications with superior strength and lighter weight than traditional materials,” he said.

The product will undergo extensive research and development before it is released, which is expected to be close to the third quarter of 2007.