REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT
COAL HAS A SIGNIFICANT PLACE IN THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIAN MINING.
THE COAL CAPITAL OF QUEENSLAND DESPITE CONCERNS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF COAL MINING IN AUSTRALIA, OPERATIONS IN THE QUEENSLAND COAL REGION OF THE BOWEN BASIN CONTINUE TO PERFORM AND PROVIDE FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
T
he final day of the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, saw strong debate over the wording of the commitments signed onto by almost 200 nations, replacing “phase out” with “phase down” in regard to coal consumption. Following this signing, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a press conference where he said the event was the turning point for coal. “Together, it is beyond question that Glasgow has sounded the death knell for coal power,” Johnson said. Despite this proclamation, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison responded to questioning at a press conference to say that coal power had a significant place in the future of Australian mining, and that COP26 did not spell the end of coal. Australia exported 177 million tonnes of metallurgical coal during the 2019–20 financial year, with a majority sourced from Queensland’s Bowen Basin. Retired metallurgist-cum-marketer for BHP Tony Le Bas told Australian Mining the future of metallurgical coal would be maintained well past 2030. “Analysts are predicting there will be more steel produced by electric arc furnace by 2040, but there will still be 1.3 billion to be produced by blast
furnace. So over the next 20 years I can’t see demand for coking coal decreasing,” Le Bas said. “We have the best coking coal in the world in Australia, and we produce the most on the seaborne market.” BHP’s Queensland Coal operations comprises the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) and BHP Mitsui Coal (BMC) assets in the Bowen Basin region. BMA is Australia’s largest producer and supplier of seaborne metallurgical coal and is owned 50:50 by BHP and Mitsubishi Development. BMA operates seven Bowen Basin mines (Goonyella Riverside, Broadmeadow, Daunia, Peak Downs, Saraji, Blackwater and Caval Ridge) and owns and operates the Hay Point Coal Terminal near Mackay. BMC owns and operates two opencut metallurgical coal mines in the Bowen Basin (South Walker Creek Mine and Poitrel Mine). BMC is owned by BHP (80 per cent) and Mitsui and Co (20 per cent). According to BHP’s 2021 annual report, a drop in the average realised coal price affected the operations’ revenue for the past 12 months. “A spike in uncertainty regarding China’s import policy on Australia origin coals distorted the usual trade flows and had a key influence on the market,” the company stated. AUSTRALIANMINING
“At Queensland Coal strong operational performance, including record production at Goonyella facilitated by record tonnes from Broadmeadow mine, was offset by significant weather impacts across most operations earlier in the year, as well as planned wash plant maintenance at Saraji and Caval Ridge in the first half of the year.
QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL CHIEF EXECUTIVE IAN MACFARLANE.
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“At South Walker Creek, despite record stripping, production decreased as a result of higher strip ratios due to ongoing impacts from geotechnical constraints and lower yields.” In September last year, Vitrinite received approval for its Vulcan mine complex, paving the way for the development of a $160 million metallurgical coal mine in the region.
