David Coe reflects on the 9-year journey to build a lab in a gold mine

“We are all explorers and scientists in our own right, whether through Earth’s geology or the cosmos.”

Stawell Gold Mines (SGM) Manager for Health, Safety, Environment and Community David Coe has been a part of the journey to build the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory since 2013.

Before he left SGM to undertake a new role in NSW, we asked him about his involvement in the project, and what it had meant to him.

How long were you in the role with Stawell Gold Mines?

I worked at SGM for 13 years.

When did you first get involved with SUPL?

In 2013 SGM and the Northern Grampians Shire Council (NGSC) ran a project to identify end land uses for the mine site that would be jobs-creating for the town post-closure. This program was made up of local stakeholders including SGM, NGSC, Regional Development Victoria, Stawell Biz, Grampians Tourism, emergency services and community representatives.

The project looked at the feasibility of a range of ideas from tourist ventures, agribusinesses, training, energy hubs and industrial facilities. It was during this project that (Centre Chief Investigator) Jeremy Mould reached out to the NGSC with their idea of putting a laboratory deep into a mine. This blue-sky idea was raised in this project forum for inclusion in the feasibility study.

What did you think when you heard about the idea of the underground lab?

It sounded exciting but with the short mine life at the time it was still a blue-sky concept, while the focus for the end land use project was more on traditional concepts of agribusiness, industrial and tourism. We met (Centre Director) Elisabetta and Jeremy onsite to discuss the project presented - it was just going to be a short experiment that would involve containerising a detector and placing it underground. As we know, this concept continued to grow and develop and the idea grew into what could it be.

How were you involved at the start of talks about the underground lab?

I was involved from the very beginning with discussion between the ARC Centre for Excellence in Particle Physics (COEPP) and NGSC. I even had the opportunity in 2015 to take a visit to Grand Sasso laboratory in Italy (located within a mountain) and Boulby Lab in the UK (located in a mine) with Elisabetta and Kevin Erwin to get an understanding of the scale of the projects and how they functioned. I was very keen to learn about the integration of the physics laboratory into the working Boulby mine, how the mining team and laboratory staff interacted and if there were any learnings we could take from that. The Boulby laboratory was a similar scale to the proposed Stawell laboratory, so it provided a good comparison for discussions going forward.

How have you been involved since then?

I’ve been involved in the design, logistics, risk assessments and a lot of media as a conduit between the SUPL project and the mine.

How has SGM adjusted to working with the University of Melbourne and the different challenges of building an underground lab?

I think the adjustment has occurred for both parties. SGM is used to working with contractors within the mining space, so this project has involved a lot of education into why we do things a certain way. The university has had to learn about the confines of working in a mine; access is not always available, power cannot be guaranteed, travel time from surface to site takes time, visitor numbers are limited and thought needs to be put into maneuvering equipment through a long, narrow, dusty mine.

What have been your favourite experiences working with scientists?

It’s really been watching an idea that was foreign to us (both the mine and the town) grow into a reality and be embraced by the community. The scientists have been generous with their time and involved the community through public talks and work in the schools. This has been the main reason that we got involved in the project - to see it become a community project and inspire the next generation of students into STEM.

Have there been any funny moments?

In the beginning there was a lot of worry from members of the community that the reason for the lab being placed deep in the underground mine was that the experiment was dangerous. This was also around the time of the CERN experiment and there was some thought that the experiments looking for dark matter could cause black holes or explosions.

How will it feel to have played a role in a project that might eventually uncover one of the great mysteries of the universe?

It’s been pretty special, with the mystery and excitement around the project. It’s unusual and there has been a lot of interest from internal and external sources. The project is definitely outside the realm of our normal duties in mining and it is great to see how those areas of mining and academia can work together on something bigger than the usual duties. We are all explorers and scientists in our own right, whether through Earth’s geology or the cosmos.

Where are you off to next?

Off to Orange, NSW to take a new role at Newcrest Cadia Valley Operations as Manager for Environment and Social Performance.

Do you plan to follow the progress of SUPL?

Of course. Including a trip to Oslo when the time comes.

The Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL) project has been supported by many university, government and community partners.