PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Coal production has started at the newly restarted Millennium metallurgical coal mine, in Queensland.

A joint venture (JV) between coal miner Stanmore Coal and M Resources in July of this year completed the acquisition of the Millennium and Mavis Downs coal mines from the Australian arm of energy major Peabody Energy.

The A$464-million underground mine commenced operations in August, 17 months after being mothballed by Peabody Energy. First coal was struck two weeks ago and production is forecast to rise to more than 1.2-million tonnes a year from July 2022.

The mine is supporting 100 jobs during construction and more than 230 ongoing full-time jobs.

“Millennium is a home-grown Maroon success story, with Queensland-made companies stepping up to generate Queensland jobs at a pivotal time for the government’s Economic Recovery Plan from Covid-19,” Queensland Resources Minister Scott Stewart said.

“Queensland has high quality resources, a skilled workforce and world-class infrastructure but it takes investors to turn these into jobs and business opportunities in our regional communities.

“We support the vision of Queensland companies and investors who are able to innovate, utilising these resources and making them available to the world.”

Chairperson of the JV, MetRes, Matt Latimore, said he was pleased to see the opening of the mine.

“Millennium mine is heading into fortunate times with high prices and a world hungry for metallurgical coal resources. Millennium will make high quality coal for steelmaking available to our trading partners which will support a global green energy transition.

“Every turbine, solar panel, energy transmission upgrade, every hydrogen pipeline and storage tank requires steel. As the world invests in a low emissions future, there will only be more demand for Queensland’s premium coking coal.”

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has welcomed the reopening of the Millennium mine, with CEO Ian Macfarlane saying Queensland had much to gain from the ongoing strength of the met coal market.

“Metallurgical coal, which is essential for steelmaking, has surged to new high prices in recent weeks, driven by global demand. As Australia’s largest met coal supplier, Queensland’s commodities are creating jobs, creating investment in regional communities and delivering for all Queenslanders.”

“Our high-quality resources exports have helped keep Queensland’s economy strong during the Covid-19 pandemic, and they will be increasingly important as investment continues in the recovery phase around the world,” Macfarlane noted.

Stewart said Queensland’s resources sector had been a steady source of employment and economic security for Queenslanders for the past 12 months.

“Despite the global pandemic, an average of almost 80 000 people have been employed in mining over the past year, a 21% increase on the same period the previous year,” he said.

“Now we see five new and re-opened mines in Queensland in just under four months, together supporting more than 1 500 jobs.”

Stanmore opened its new Isaac Downs mine on its Isaac Plains complex near Moranbah in August, supporting up to 550 jobs, while the Vulcan opencut metallurgical coal mine, also near Moranbah, received its final approvals in September, and will support up to 150 jobs.

In the North-West Minerals Province, the mothballed Rocklands copper mine near Cloncurry will return to full production this month, supporting up to 150 jobs.

Multicom Resources will also start construction next year on its A$250-million Saint Elmo vanadium mine near Julia Creek, supporting up to 400 regional jobs.

Another A$1-billion resources project is also on the cards: the A$1-billion Winchester South coal mine 30 km southeast of Moranbah, forecast to create 1 000 new jobs and generate more than A$500-million in royalties, said Stewart.