Tag: QLD Coal

All Images: Fitzroy Australia Resources. BY EMMA DAVIES FITZROY Australia Resources has managed to turn around the troubled Carborough Downs mine and has received approval to develop its Ironbark No.1 project– just in time to meet forecast growth in demand for Australian metallurgical coal. Since Fitzroy Australia Resources (Fitzroy) acquired the Carborough Downs mine in 2016, more than 2 million tonnes of coking coal has been produced and a 10-year mine life has been achieved by opening up northern reserves. The mine, formerly owned by Brazilian mining giant Vale, had encountered a number of issues since it began production– with various geological problems, rock faulting, and dangerous levels of carbon monoxide causing a force majeure in 2012. Before the acquisition,…

All images: Stanmore Coal. BY ELIZABETH FABRI THREE years; that’s all it took for Stanmore Coal to turn the two-year Isaac Plains mine into a 15-year mega project. Through strategic (and timely) acquisitions, Stanmore Coal now has a strong footprint in the Bowen Basin, and healthy cash flow as coal prices remain strong. Stanmore Coal’s purchase of the shuttered Isaac Plains mine several years ago was a watershed moment for the then-explorer. In 2015, the coal market was in the depths of a downturn. Prices were so bad many companies were looking for an out, but Stanmore Coal had other plans. In July 2015, the company entered a deal to pick up Peabody subsidiary Millennium Coal’s undeveloped Wotonga (Isaac Plains…

QLD Resources Investment Commissioner Todd Harrington.  BY ELIZABETH FABRI QLD Resources Investment Commissioner Todd Harrington will be part of a panel discussion on Transforming Regional QLD at the upcoming QME conference and exhibition in Mackay. We spoke with Mr Harrington ahead of the event about the biggest issues facing the industry, investment opportunities, and the global importance of QLD metallurgical and thermal coal. Q. What topics will you cover as part of the QME panel discussion on Transforming Regional QLD?   QLD has got some of the best geology. We’ve got the best metallurgical coal, some very good thermal coal, we’ve got copper, lead, zinc, silver, and then oil and gas, both conventional and unconventional. The vast majority of those…

All images: New Hope Group. BY REUBEN ADAMS THE QLD coal sector is enjoying strong revenues, employment growth, and new investment. Now – as QLD Labor secures another term in office – it’s time to examine how red tape, drawn out development approvals, and political risk are having a real and tangible impact on greenfields and brownfields mine development. Coal has officially re-emerged from some of the most difficult industry conditions in years. Even taking into account the substantial impacts of Cyclone Debbie in April, strong prices have put a spring into the step of the QLD’s major producers. In FY17, New Hope Group’s revenue from its QLD and NSW operations jumped 59 per cent to $844.1 million. Whitehaven Coal…

BY CAMERON DRUMMOND THE Carmichael coal, rail and port project will purportedly make up just one third of Adani’s total investment into Australia by 2022, with the Indian mining giant earmarking 1500MW worth of renewables projects and a 1 million tonnes per year agribusiness export mechanism. Construction works have started this month on Adani’s mammoth $16.5 billion Carmichael coal mine, rail and port project, two months after company chairman Gautam Adani gave the operation the green light. The massive undertaking has come under intense scrutiny by environmentalists, as well as the State and Federal politicians since it was brought to the table six years ago. However, Adani persevered through a myriad of red tape and court appeals, confirming in late…

All images: Adani BY CAMERON DRUMMOND DEVELOPMENT of Adani’s $16.5 billion Carmichael coal project is back on the table after the QLD Government made clear its position for the go ahead of the project. The Indian miner had dramatically suspended its final investment decision just days before its due date, blaming lack of clarity over royalty rates and the specifics of a $900 million Federal loan through the North Australian Infrastructure facility (NAIF). Over the last two years, Adani’s proposed Carmichael coal project has tenaciously pushed through the approval processes for the gigantic mine and associated infrastructure which, if developed, had the potential to unlock widespread development in the Galilee Basin. The proposed Carmichael coal, railway and port project includes building…