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MINING |New Hope Group
NEW HOP A diversified majority Australian owned energy company
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PE GROUP
MINING |New Hope Group
New Hope Group began in A diversified energy Queensland, Australia in 1952, when the company was formed company Having started as an underground coal to undertake underground miner, it wasn’t until the 1980s that New coal mining in the bustling Hope shifted into open cut coal mining and industrial centre of the state, moved to totally vertically integrate the Ipswich. Today, New Hope is business through an investment in the a diversified energy company coal terminal at the Port of Brisbane. listed on the ASX and one of Since then, the company has Queensland’s largest regionally- continued to focus on open cut based employers, with a direct coal mining. workforce of more than 600 people along with a wider reach “We are very vertically integrated for a coal of 3,000 jobs through suppliers mining company. We own and contractors. Connecting our drill rigs, we have our New Hope’s longstanding past geologists and engineers, with its present position in we get our own Queensland is a set of lasting approvals, do our own values that have permeated mining, coal processing, through the company since marketing and we own inception. New Hope’s managing the coal shipping terminal director Shane Stephan lists the at the Port of Brisbane.” four most enduring company values as: Safety, accountability, The investment in the coal shipping terminal at the Port integrity and resilience. of Brisbane back in the 1980s was the first step in New Hope’s “Resilience is one of the most important
vertical integration strategy, which
values for any resources company because
has proven to be highly successful
commodity prices go up and down, so
as today the only part of the coal
you need to maintain resilience within the
production chain that New Hope doesn’t
organisation,” explains Stephan. “This means
own is the rail.
resilience in a financial sense, within human resources and also in the mineral resource
While becoming self-reliant in the coal
itself.”
market, New Hope also followed a strategy of sector diversification under the premise that
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MINING |New Hope Group
New Hope Group is an Australian controlled and operated diversified energy company, proudly based in South East Queensland for more than 60 years. With business interests and operations spanning mining, exploration, port operation, oil, agriculture, innovative technologies and investment, New Hope has grown to be one of Queensland’s top ASX listed companies.
www.newhopegroup.com.au
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over-exposure to a single market, particularly “We invested in that operation to learn that one as volatile as the coal market, could
industry, but also because it provides a
be damaging to the company’s long-term
natural hedge, particularly as we use a lot
prospects.
of diesel for our truck fleet across our coal mines.
For example, in 2012 New Hope invested in a conventional oil company called Bridgeport
“Therefore having an investment in a
Energy, which proved to be a shrewd move
conventional oil company provides a natural
as the coal price downturn of the time was
financial hedge on oil price which is one of
to further deepen, reaching a new nadir in
our major cost drivers,” Stephan reasons.
2016.
MINING |New Hope Group Along the way, New Hope has also developed its own agricultural business called the Acland Pastoral Company (APC), which operates approximately 10,000 hectares of land around the company’s largest operation New Acland on Queensland’s Darling Downs. The pastoral operation is also highly integrated running a herd of around 5,000 cattle and roughly 2,400 hectares of crops that are used for the company’s own stock feed requirements with excess sold locally. Approximately 500 hectares of this operation is rehabilitated mined land. The company is a world leader in its progressive rehabilitation techniques which returns mined land to useable cattle grazing pastures immediately behind mining operations. “Through APC, we see ourselves as a custodian of that land and we are proud to say we put the land we own to good use before during and after mining – apart from being the right thing to do it also makes good business sense.”
Thermal coal operations Despite following a clear diversification strategy in recent years, Stephan underlines thermal coal mining as New Hope’s predominant line of business. The thermal coal business has three key operations, with the bulk of production exported to Asian markets, along with a smaller domestic market.
ResourceGlobal GlobalNetwork Network Resource New Hope’s priority Queensland operation is New Acland, which has been producing thermal coal since 2002 and currently runs at a rate of approximately 5 million tonnes per annum. However, New Acland is currently nearing the end of Stage 2 of its mine life and the company is working on gaining approval for Stage 3 of the operation. The mine lease application for Stage 3 was initially rejected by the Land Court, but after seeking judicial review of the ruling in the Supreme Court, the extension plans for New Acland were given a lifeline by the Supreme Court overturning the Land Court’s decision. “For New Acland stage 3, we remain very confident of obtaining those approvals. The key concern for us is that we need to progress in a smooth manner from Stage 2 into Stage 3, maintaining production at a steady rate so we can maintain employment at the site and of course maintain supply to our customers.” New Hope employs around 300 people directly through the operation, and a further 700 people rely on New Acland for employment. Furthermore, the operation injects more than AUS$110 million into the Darling Downs economy each year and over $300 million into the broader Southeast Queensland economy each year, underlining its importance in the region. In August 2018, New Hope opted to increase its stake in the Bengalla mine in New South Wales through the purchase of Wesfarmers’
MINING |New Hope Group
“We always try to employ people locally. That’s been a major competitive advantage for us in the recruitment of high level, talented people. Most mines in Queensland are fly-in fly-out whereas our employees live locally, and they are able to go home to their families at night” Shane Stephan, managing director 40% stake in the joint venture operation. The
its operations once they reach maturity.
$860 million acquisition will take New Hope’s
“Ensuring that the land post-mining has a
ownership of Bengalla to 80%, and starts a
viable and sustainable use post-mining is
pre-emptive process where the remaining
critical,” Stephan stresses.
co-venturers Mitsui and Taipower are able to enter in at that same price.
“We’ve done a lot of work in progressive rehabilitation and having that rehabilitation
Bengalla is an important and growing part
monitored and evaluated by third parties,
of New Hope’s coal portfolio according to
such as the University of New England and
Stephan, as the operation produces roughly
the University of Southern Queensland, has
9 million tonnes per annum of thermal coal
assisted us in improving our rehabilitation
which is sold into export markets in Japan,
practises and ensuring sustainable land use
Korea, Taiwan and other Asian markets.
post-mining.
“We also own a smaller operation called
“Also, from a social point of view we always
Jeebropilly which produces around 600,000
try to employ people locally. That’s actually
tonnes of coal per annum and is the last
been a major competitive advantage for us in
coal mining operation in the West Moreton
the recruitment of high level, talented people,
district.” New Hope has been mining in
because a lot of mines in Queensland are fly-
the district for a long time but will cease to
in fly-out.
operate there in mid-2019 when Jeebropilly completes its mine life.
A custodian of the land
“Whereas, our employees live locally and they are able to go home to their families at night. These are some of the characteristics that
The upcoming mine closure at Jeebropilly
make us a touch different from most of our
brings into focus New Hope’s commitment
peers.”
to rehabilitation of the land surrounding
Resource Global Network already established infrastructure, which
Exploration and development
includes a railway, a coal operation plant, accommodation village along with electrical
The mid-term future of New Hope’s coal
and water infrastructure.
business looks to be assured judging by its packed exploration portfolio, which is headed
The company also has four projects in the
by two prospective projects at Colton and
North Surat region of Queensland and is
Lenton.
looking at development options for these potentially large open cut coal resources,
Colton is a small coking coal project near
although they are dependent on the
Maryborough which has had its mining lease
development of the ‘Southern Missing Link’, a
and mining approval granted and is now
214 km length of rail connecting the Western
awaiting the results of a re-financing process
Railway system near Wandoan to the Moura
that is taking place for Wiggins Island Coal
Railway system near Banana.
Export Terminal (WICET), the coal port which it would use for exports out of the city of
With a history in Queensland stretching back
Gladstone.
over 70 years, and in its ongoing role as a responsible steward of the environment it
“Lenton is a project of about 1.5-2 million
operates in, New Hope has proven to be
tonnes per annum of both metallurgical and
a vital social and economic stakeholder in
thermal coal, approximately split 50:50.
the state, and with a detailed exploration portfolio in the region this is set to continue
“If we do get the approvals to progress, we
into the foreseeable future.
should be able to get that operation up and running quite quickly, because approvals are in place already at the adjoining Burton mine and most of the approvals are in train to progress with Lenton.” New Hope acquired the nearby Burton mine from Peabody Energy, primarily to gain access to its
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Published by Anderson Murray Media Ltd
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