By Xanthe Gregory

ABC Central West

Topic: Earthquakes

Friday, June 19, 2026, at 9:41 am

A small earthquake hit Central West NSW at 5:43 am on Friday. It was a 3.4 magnitude quake.

Two earthquakes hit western NSW, stopping work at a big gold mine for the second time in nine weeks.

A 3.4 magnitude quake happened near a gold mine south of Orange at about 5:45 am.

The gold mine company said all workers underground were safe and back on the surface.

The mine is being checked for damage.

About 100 people felt the quake, which happened 1 kilometer underground.

The Cadia Gold Mine is one of Australia's biggest gold mines.

The mayor of Blayney, Bruce Reynolds, was watching TV when the quake hit.

The quake lasted about five seconds.

Another quake, a 3.2 magnitude, happened earlier near Wilcannia.

Only two people felt this quake, which was detected by a remote station.

This quake came two months after a bigger one stopped work at the mine for five weeks.

The bigger quake trapped workers underground for over 10 hours.

The April quake was the biggest on record for the Orange area.

It was felt as far away as Sydney and Canberra.

Before that, a 4.3 magnitude quake hit the area in 2017.

That quake also stopped work at the mine for several months.

Today's quake was not as strong as the previous one.

The mayor said the big quake was much more violent.

This is the third quake near the Cadia mine.

Friday, June 19, 2026, at 9:41 am

Friday, June 19, 2026, at 11:44 am

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