PERTH (miningweekly.com) – First blasting has occurred at the Isaac Plains coal mine, in Queensland, with the project on track to produce its first coal in April.
Project owner Stanmore Coal said on Friday that following the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection’s acceptance of the Isaac Plains plan of operation, which covered the operational period through to March 2017, operational responsibilities at the mine had been handed over to contractor Golding Contractors.
“We are pleased with the significant progress made by Golding to date in mobilising to site and kicking off mining activities within a short timeframe,” said Stanmore MD Nick Jorss.
“The site is a hive of activity as the team gears up for first coal production in April this year, as planned. In the meantime, negotiations are progressing well with a number of large North Asian steel mills regarding the terms of offtake contracts for the high-quality coking coal we will produce.”
The Isaac Plains mine was placed on care and maintenance late in 2014, owing to a major slump in coal prices. At peak, the mine produced about 2.8-million tonnes of export coal, which was sold to a number of steelmakers in Asia.
Under the contract agreed with Golding, some 3.3-million tonnes of coal would be produced over a three-year period.