Name and Location
Springvale coal mine extension project, New South Wales, Australia.

Client
The project is a joint venture between Centennial Coal and SK Kores Australia.

Project Description
The project involves the extension of the Springvale mine to enable the mine to continue operating for an additional
13 years.

The project involves:
• continued longwall mining operations to extract up to 4.5-million tonnes a year of run-of-mine coal from the Lithgow seam;
• continued operation of the mine’s pit top area, support facilities and utilities;
• the extension and continued use of the Springvale Delta water transfer scheme, bore dewatering facilities and ventilation infrastructure;
• continued processing of run-of-mine (RoM) coal at the pit top area;
• continued stockpiling of RoM coal –85 000 t capacity;
• continued transportation of processed coal by overland conveyor to Centennial’s Western Coal Services site for further processing or to the Mt Piper power station;
• continued transportation of processed coal by road to other local domestic customers – limited to 50 000 t/y; and
• rehabilitation of the pit top area and Newnes plateau surface-infrastructure site.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The New South Wales Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) delivered an initial report on the mine expansion plans in June this year, which identified four key issues that required further consideration – the quality of water discharged into the Coxs river, surface water licensing, monitoring for impacts on swamps and swamp offsets.

Centennial responded to the raised issues in July, but warned by August that it would have no choice but to let the majority of its 300 employees at the Springvale mine go if the expansion plan was not approved in time.

“It’s imperative that we get the final tick of approval as soon as possible to give mineworkers and their families certainty that their jobs are safe,” New South Wales south-west district VP Graeme Osborne has said.

In its final assessment released in September, the PAC said it had carefully weighed the key areas of concern against the socioeconomic benefit of the project and was satisfied that the extension project’s benefits outweighed its potential impacts.

The PAC urged Planning Minister Rob Stokes to approve the project for development.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Springvale Colliery, tel +61 2 6350 1600 or email springvalecolliery@centennialcoal.com.au.