A 4.5 magnitude earthquake struck near Orange in New South Wales on Tuesday evening, trapping workers at Australia's largest underground gold mine for hours. The quake hit at 8:19 pm, with its epicenter located south of Orange, west of Blayney, adjacent to the Cadia mine, at a depth of five kilometers.
The tremor was felt hundreds of kilometers away, with reports from Sydney, Canberra, and Batamans Bay, nearly 300 kilometers from the epicenter. Local residents described the sound as a truck roaring past. Blayney mayor Bruce Reynolds said the quake was powerful enough to crack bricks, with an enormous roar like an explosion and the house rocking.
While surface damage was limited, the quake triggered an emergency below ground at the Cadia mine. Miners took refuge for hours before being brought back to the surface. Operator Newmont confirmed all workers made it out safely, with only one minor injury reported.
Geoscience Australia's Professor Phil Cummins described it as the largest earthquake recorded in that immediate area, noting it was large compared to most Australian earthquakes but not unusual. Two aftershocks followed, and authorities warned there could be more.
Over the past decade, Geoscience Australia has recorded more than a dozen tremors near the mine, but officials say their detectors cannot precisely determine if mining activity triggered the earthquake. Underground operations at Cadia have been halted while specialist teams conduct inspections and assessments.
