BUSINESSES around the Mackay region have long thrived on work provided by US company Peabody’s Coppabella, and the other mines in the vicinity.

Its strong culture of community engagement and corporate responsibility provides ongoing support to community services, local emergency services, education, safety and environmental management.

Coppabella celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2018.

Peabody Australia president George Schuller said that over its two decades in operation, Coppabella had provided benefits for the Moranbah and Nebo townships and the Mackay region as a whole.

The comments were echoed by Queensland Regional Council director Ian MacFarlane.

“Coppabella has exported coal to Japan, Korea and Taiwan, paying royalties to the State Government which are used to build the schools and hospitals,” he said.

“That is good news for every town and community that relies on mining – from Mount Isa to Maroochydore.

“Queensland would be an unimaginably different place without the huge scale of mining investment over the past 25 years.

“The Queensland resources sector now provides one in every six dollars in the Queensland economy, sustains one in eight Queensland jobs, and supports more than 16,400 businesses across the State – all from 0.1 per cent of Queensland’s land mass.”

The mine lays 140km south-west of the Mackay region close to the Nebo and Moranbah townships.

It is a strong supporter of regional contractors and services and employs 435 workers on site.

The mine targets local engineering services, mining services, equipment and water treatment and other mine service industries from the region, to complete projects on site and in local workshops.

Benefits from the mines are seen in many markers, including housing provisions for employees and an employment rate that reflects the steady nature of employment provided by the mining industry.

The unemployment rate stays steady at around 1pc while the mining industry, including contractors and service industries, employs nearly 40pc of workers in the region.

This represents around 35,000 people in June 2018.

“The good news is, the resources industry is still creating jobs for people now, and for decades to come,” said Mr Macfarlane.

The nearby Moranbah township was built as a home for miners in 1969, and its symbiotic relationship with the mining companies continues.

The Miners League club is still going strong in the town to this day.

History

Opening on November 6, 1988, Coppabella has shipped more than 65mt of steel-making coal to China, Australia and Japan since reaching full production.

Peabody has a 73pc interest in an unincorporated joint venture that owns the Coppabella and Moorvale mines, and is the world’s leading pure-play coal company, producing thermal and metallurgical coal.

Its mines supply power and steel customers in more than 25 countries on six continents.

The surface mine produces Pulverise Coal Injection (PCI) coal, which is used for its heat value and is injected directly into blast furnaces as a supplementary fuel, which reduces the amount of coke required.

It can also be sold into the thermal coal market.

The open cast mining operation employs conventional processes, using dragline with truck and shovel and hydraulic excavators.

As a steward of the environment, Peabody is committed to following sustainable development practices at Coppabella.

It aims to progressively rehabilitate or reclaim all landscapes disturbed by its mining projects to ensure that post-mine, sound environmental outcomes are achieved.

By continually identifying and managing risks, conservation of the environment is ensured.

Production and geology

The mine includes four pits – Johnson, South, Creek and East.

It lies within the eastern part of the Queensland Bowen basin on the south-western edge of the Carborough syncline.

The south-east section of the deposit has been affected by a cretaceous-aged granodiorite intrusion that has changed the direction of the synclinal flank upwards.

The P&H 4100 electrical shovel is used for pre-stripping operations and removing overburden.

In order to facilitate the process, the overburden is first drilled and blasted.

A Marion 8200 dragline is used on the final pass to coal in the central region.

The exposed coal is mined using hydraulic excavators.

A north-east dipping Permo-Triassic strata encloses the economic coal measures of Fort Cooper and Rangal.

The processed coal is sent to the product stockpile before it is loaded and delivered for export to the Dalrymple Bay Coal terminal.

 

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