Mitsubishi Development

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Mitsubishi Development is a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary of the Mitsubishi Corporation established in 1968. On its website Mitsubishi states that "the company has taken a stake in approximately ten coal mines together with major natural resource companies and produces approximately 28 million tons of coal a year, ranking among the top five producers in Australia."

Mitsubishi Development is a 50:50 joint venture partner with BHP Billiton in BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA). BMA owns and operates seven coal mines in the Bowen Basin in Queensland and the Hay Point Coal Terminal near Mackay. The company also manages two coal mines -- the South Walker Creek mine and the Poitrel mine -- for BHP Mitsui Coal.

BMA owned and operated mines are:

• the Gregory Crinium mine;
• the Peak Downs mine;
• the Saraji mine;
• the Norwich Park mine;
• the Blackwater mine;
• the Ulan Coal mine (10%); and
• the Goonyella Riverside mine.

Ulan mine expansion

In November 2010, Mitsubishi said that it and Swiss-based miner Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) will roughly double the production capacity of the Ulan Coal mine in New South Wales state in Australia to 12.9 million metric tons a year, with commercial production targeted starting in 2014. Mitsubishi has a 10% stake in the mine while Xstrata holds the remainder. The two partners will invest A$1.3 billion in the expansion, the Japanese trading house said in a statement. The partners will sell the new output to Japan and other foreign customers.

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