Four Queensland mines that failed to meet dust monitoring laws designed to protect workers from the black lung have escaped harsh penalties.
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Glencore's Oaky North and Oaky No. 1 and AngloAmerican's Moranbah North and Grosvenor have failed to meet their dust monitoring obligations during the second quarter of this year.
The Queensland Mines Inspectorate have powers to order a full and independent audit of the mine's safety and health management system instructions, or prosecute, or close the mine.
On Friday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk sternly warned the mines would face prosecution if they did not fix the issues.
"The protection of workers is paramount and if the mines are breaching the laws they will feel the full force of the law," she said.
Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls also called for action last week.
"If they do the wrong thing, quite simply, there is no excuse and they should be shut down," he said.
However, the mines are not facing prosecution or closure as a result of these incidents.
A Queensland Mines Inspectorate spokesman said officers had met with the owners of the coal mines that failed to comply with dust monitoring obligations.
"We are satisfied that all four of the mines have now satisfied the requirements under the safety and health directives issued to them last Friday," he said.
The directives required the four mines to review and address deficiencies in their safety and health management systems to ensure compliance with dust monitoring laws and prevent recurrence.
"The safety and health of Queensland mine workers is paramount, and we will continue to work with all mine operators to ensure they meet their safety obligations," the spokesman said.
The mines had until Tuesday to fulfil the requirements of the directives, with a warning on Friday that if they failed it could result in further action which could include directives to stop mining or prosecution.
On Thursday night, Mines Minister Anthony Lynham said the Mines Inspectorate had statutory independence and he had no ability to direct them.
Tougher dust-monitoring rules for mines were introduced following the "re-emergence" of black lung, with 23 cases diagnosed so far.
It had been thought the disease was eradicated, with an inquiry revealing "catastrophic failure" at almost every level of the regulatory system designed to protect the health and safety of coal workers in Queensland.
Last week, a Glencore spokesman said the company was very disappointed, had begun an investigation and would work with the Inspectorate to ensure the situation did not occur again.
"We can confirm that for the current September quarter 2017, both mines have completed dust sampling," the Glencore spokesman said.
AngloAmerican said the sampling targets did not fully comply with new regulations in the second quarter and it would work with the government to urgently address the issue.
