A ninth Queensland coal miner has been diagnosed with coal workers' pneumoconiosis.
A spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources and Mines said the 62-year old underground coal miner works in the Bowen Basin, where the state's eighth case was also recently confirmed.
A "perfect storm" of regulatory failure, indifference from the mining industry, poor dust control and patchy health monitoring has been blamed for the re-emergence of the potentially fatal disease.
In the eighth case, the 55-year-old underground coal mine worker had worked in the industry for 20 years, including several mines in central Queensland's Bowen Basin.
He was being assessed for another chest condition when a respiratory physician spotted early stage black lung, or coal worker's pneumoconiosis.
Black lung is caused by prolonged exposure to coal dust. It was thought to have been eradicated about 30 years ago.
The CFMEU has accused the government of covering up the problem and warned there could be many hundreds more coal miners living with the disease.
The government launched a five-point plan in January to deal with the problem.
It promised to review the existing screening system, properly enforce dust limits, improve information collection and consider changes to regulation.
They called for independent physicians and radiologists, outside of mining companies, to evaluate X-rays and lung inspections every three years.
