PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Carmichael coal mine, in Queensland, has mined its first ten-million tonnes of thermal coal.

Bravus Mining and Resources COO Mick Crowe said the ten-million tonnes railed milestone was an achievement shared by the tens of thousands of people who had so passionately supported the business over the years in obtaining its comprehensive approvals and building the mine and railway.

“This is a terrific milestone for our team, our contracting partners, and supporters of our business,” Crowe said.

“It also shows clear delivery on the commitments we’ve made, particularly to people in north and central Queensland, and just how much the coal industry can contribute when the job is done well.

“We said at the outset of the Carmichael mine and rail project that we’d deliver more than 1 500 direct jobs during the construction and testing and commissioning period. We well and truly exceeded that with more than 2 600 people employed at the peak of construction and more than A$2-billion paid to regional Queensland contractors and businesses.

“That investment in jobs and contracts has flowed on in production and today we have more than 750 people working at Carmichael at any one time, with another third of that number on their operations swing,” said Crowe.

Crowe said the business’ focus was now on continuing to export coal to meet growing global demand for thermal coal for energy, particularly in India and Southeast Asia.

“There’s no question that Australian coal will play a role, alongside renewables, as part of the global energy mix that delivers reliable and affordable power with reduced emissions intensity.

“Our advantage is we have all of our key federal and state approvals in place, and we have the low-cost, high-quality reserves to be mining profitably through the price cycles for decades to come.

“We are already meeting the rising demand for thermal coal in our region with a product that not only has a lower emissions profile than coal supplied by international competitors, but one that is mined responsibly in a highly regulated environment with the right checks and balances in place. That’s good news for those nations trying to lift their citizens out of energy poverty, and it’s good news for regional Queensland and the thousands of people who want a job in mining or to supply to our industry.”