A spokeswoman for BMA told ILN it was not a work-related fatality, so the company was not in a position to release further details.

“BMA regrets to confirm that one of its contract employees has passed away onsite at the Daunia Mine as a result of a non work-related incident,” she said. “BMA extends its sympathies to the employee’s family, friends and work colleagues during this difficult time.”

At its recent analysts’ tour of its Queensland operations, BHP Billiton coal president Dean Dalla Valle said the company had a focus on visible safety leadership and was managing material and fatal risks by standardising critical controls.

He said the company was simplifying health and safety management systems and procedures.

Daunia is a 4.5 million tonne per annum greenfield mine development that achieved first production in March, ahead of schedule and under budget.

It is forecast to ramp-up to nameplate capacity by Q4 CY13.

Daunia’s high-quality, low-sulphur, semi-hard coking coal and PCI coals are attractive to overseas buyers. The project forms part of a growth strategy designed to strategically service the expanding demands of India, China and other international metallurgical coal markets.

BMA has been flooded with 30,000 applications from Cairns and Brisbane for 250 positions at its Daunia and Caval Ridge mines.

It signals a major rebalancing of employment opportunities in the coal mining industry, but also the need for maintaining safety standards among workers new to the coal industry.

BMA has thrown a wide net for applicants and is prepared to train “cleanskins” to suit the particular requirements of the mines.

A spokeswoman for BMA said: “The applications for these roles have closed and BMA received an overwhelming response from people in the Cairns region, including women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people with limited coal mining experience.

“The recruitment team is working through the next stage of the recruitment process and will soon be conducting a series of assessment centres in Cairns as the next important step in the recruitment process.”