Gregory coal mine

Gregory Coal Mine
Location
Location 60 km north east of Emerald
Queensland
Country Australia
Production
Products Coking coal
History
Opened 1979
Closed 2012
Owner
Company BHP Billiton/Mitsubishi Alliance

The Gregory Coal Mine is an open-cut coal mine located 60 km north east of Emerald in the Central Queensland, Australia. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 159 million tonnes of coking coal, one of the largest coal reserves in Asia and the world. The Bowen Basin mine has an annual production capacity of 5 million tonnes of coal.[1] Operations at the Gregory mine started in 1979. Coal from the mine is exported to the Port of Gladstone via the Blackwater railway system.

Crinum mine

The underground mine at the site is known as Crinum. Together both mines are referred to as the Gregory Crinum complex. The complex is owned by the BHP Billiton/Mitsubishi Alliance. In mid 2013, the Crinum mine contained 8.3 million tonnes of coal and was forecast to continue extraction for another four years.[2] Operations at the Crinum mine began in 1997 and it employs about 200 people.[3]

Longwall mining at Crinum finished in 2007.[3] Crinum received the Queensland Mining Industry Health and Safety Innovations Award in 2009 for a safety guard which prevents falls onto a coveyor belt.[3]

Closure

In September 2012, it was announced that production at the mine was to cease on 10 October 2012.[4] Due to falling coal prices the mine had become uneconomic. The Crinum underground mine was not closed and the coal handling preparation plant at Gregory would continue to be used.

Floods

Severe flooding affected operations at the mine in 2008.[5] The 2010–2011 Queensland floods resulted in a force majeure declaration for numerous Queensland mines including the Gregory Crinum complex.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bowen Basin coal mines". bowenbasin.com. 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  2. ↑ "BHP in talks with Linc Energy to sell coal mine". Business Spectator. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Crinum Coal Mine, Queensland, Australia". mining-technology.com (Net Resources International). Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "Production To Cease At Gregory Open-Cut Operation". BHP Billiton. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  5. ↑ Rebecca Le May (23 January 2008). "Floods hit BHP/Mitsubishi Qld coal mines". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  6. ↑ James Regan (20 January 2011). "Floods knock BHP coal output". Reuters (Thomson Reuters). Retrieved 15 September 2013.

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