The state of New South Wales was hit by a 4.5 magnitude earthquake in the central west of the state

Updated April 15, 2026 — 3:11 p.m. First Published at 10:54 a.m.

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Locals near a gold mine in central western New South Wales are concerned about the potential impact of the mine on earthquakes and tremors after a record earthquake struck the area on Tuesday evening, shaking the ground as far away as Sydney and Batemans Bay.

The 4.5-magnitude quake struck near the Cadia Gold Mine, about 35 kilometers southwest of Orange, at 8.19pm on Tuesday.

A spread of “felt reports” submitted to Geoscience Australia from people who felt shaking last night.

Nearby residents reported a roar lasting 10 to 15 seconds, comparing the sound to that of a large aircraft. Those closest to the epicenter said it looked like a bomb explosion.

“It was like an explosion under the house,” said Bruce Reynolds, the mayor of Blayney Shire, who lives 12 kilometers from the epicenter.

Reynolds said it appeared more violent and sudden than a 4.3 magnitude earthquake that occurred in a similar location on Good Friday in 2017.

“This was different,” he said. “This is probably the largest we have seen in this local area in recent history, since the Richter scale was first used.”

Miners were evacuated from the Cadia Gold Mine on Tuesday evening and underground operations were temporarily halted. The mine’s operator, Newmont Cadia, confirmed that its seismic sensors detected the quake and all underground workers returned safely to the surface.

Cadia Gold Mine in Newmont near Orange. Getty Images

Two aftershocks of the earthquake, with a magnitude of 2.4 and 2.2, struck near one of the mine’s tailings dams, which contained tons of waste.

Part of the mine’s dam wall collapsed in 2018 in the days after two 2.7-magnitude earthquakes struck the area. A subsequent expert report found that the earthquakes did not contribute significantly to the collapse.

“A number of community members have concerns and some concerns about a potential link between earthquake activity and mining activity,” Reynolds acknowledged.

A seismologist from Geoscience Australia told Central Western Daily in 2023 that there had been high levels of seismic activity around the Cadia mine in recent years – about 60 earthquakes of magnitude 2 or greater in the past eight years within 30 kilometers of the site.

However, the data is not detailed enough to determine whether there is a direct cause and effect between mining operations and seismic tremors.

In some cases, mining, hydraulic fracturing and other human activities such as wastewater injection can trigger earthquakes, but it is very difficult to draw a direct link between a mine and a specific earthquake, said Dr Phil Cummins, senior seismologist at Geoscience Australia.

“Mining can change the ‘stress field’ across the Earth, and a change in the pressure field can cause an earthquake,” he said. “The problem is that our grid that we use to detect earthquakes at the national level is too coarse to pinpoint that mechanism with any precision.”

The approximate location of the epicenter (large orange dot) and aftershocks (smaller dots within the mine site) on Tuesday night.

Extracting and depositing large amounts of material underground — and moving water around — could change how tectonic stress is distributed and affect seismic activity, he said.

“Some research has been able to link change in seismic activity to changes in mining activity, especially for things like hydraulic fracturing, and draw a correlation,” he said.

Intensive local monitoring of seismic activity over a long period of time will be needed to understand whether specific mining activities trigger tremors or earthquakes.

Cummins said there have been four earthquakes greater than 3.5 magnitude in the immediate vicinity of the Cadia mine since 2017. He added that Tuesday evening’s quake was the largest ever felt in the area.

In 2018, part of the tailings dam wall collapsed. Residents claim they have since been exposed to dust which they fear may contain chemicals from the mine. Brooke Mitchell

Premier Chris Minns was asked on Wednesday morning whether he had been made aware of a possible link between the quakes and the mine.

“We don’t believe it’s linked, or I haven’t been given any information that it’s linked. I was briefed on it late last night,” Means said, adding that he would update the public on any new information.

Earthquakes can occur across the continent due to forces applied at the boundaries of the Australian tectonic plates. “Although these boundaries are very far away, stress is slowly building up in the Australian crust, so earthquakes can occur anywhere,” Cummins said.

More than 2,000 people reported feeling the recent earthquake to Geoscience Australia. People on social media reported that sofas jumped in Mittagong, houses creaked in Lawson, windows shook in Bathurst, and cats acted out in Caringbah.

“The weak shaking extends as far as Batemans Bay in the south-east, which is at least a few hundred kilometres,” Cummins said.

Police are not aware of any injuries or damage. Reynolds said NSW Recovery Minister Janelle Savin had been in touch to offer support.

Because the Richter scale is logarithmic — meaning each number represents a 10-fold increase in intensity — a magnitude 4.5 earthquake is about 1.6 times larger than a magnitude 4.3 earthquake, but twice as powerful in terms of energy released.

With William Davis

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Angus Dalton is the science correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald. Contact via X or email. From our partners

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