North Goonyella/Eaglefield Complex

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{{#badges: CoalSwarm|Navbar-Australiacoal}} The North Goonyella/Eaglefield Complex is an Australian mining operation owned by Peabody Energy. The North Goonyella Mine is located 38 km north of Moranbah, 100 miles west of Mackay, Queensland, Australia. North Goonyella is a longwall underground operation that produces metallurgical coal. During 2018, the North Goonyella Mine sold 1.8 million tons (1.63 tonnes) of metallurgical coal.[1]

The Eaglefield Mine, located in Queensland, Australia, is a surface operation utilizing truck-and-shovel mining methods. It is adjacent to, and fulfils contract tonnages in conjunction with, the North Goonyella underground mine. Coal is mined by a contractor from reserves that Peabody controls. During 2008, the Eaglefield Mine sold 1.2 million tons (1.09 tonnes) of metallurgical coal through the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal a large coal exporting facility in Queensland, to a diverse range of steelmakers in Japan, India, and Europe.[2]

The combined North Goonyella/Eaglefield operations have an estimated annual production capacity of 5 million tons (4.5 million tonnes).

Location

The undated image below shows the exact location of the North Goonyella mine.

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Coal mine background

Mining commenced at North Goonyella in 1994 and Peabody Energy acquired the operation in April 2004.[3]

Expansion

Peabody is looking to extend the North Goonyella mine with a new longwall in 2020[4] to extend the life of the mine to 2026. In October 2019 the mine is being re-ventilated to allow for the expansion.[5]

A fire in September 2018 at the longwall mine cast doubt on the realities of an expansion plans, with some predicting the closure of North Goonyella. High gas levels had meant that personnel were evacuated prior to the start of the fire.[6][7]

Mine Data

  • Owner: Peabody Energy
  • Parent company:
  • Location: 38 km north of Moranbah, Bowen Basin, Queensland, Australia
  • GPS coordinates:-21.669490, 147.957242 (accurate)
  • Production: 5 million short tons (2008). 2 million short tons expected output from North Goonyella following extension
  • Type of coal: Metallurgical/Thermal
  • Mine type: Underground/Surface
  • Equipment: Truck, shovel, longwall
  • Number of employees:
  • Recoverable Reserves: 70 million tons[8]

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

Coal in Australia

References

  1. Peadbody, "North Goonyella Updates" Peabody website, accessed 30 October 2019.
  2. Peabody, "Queensland Operations" Peabody Energy Website, October 2009.
  3. Mining Data Online, "Queensland Operations" 2019.
  4. Coal Age, "Peabody Proceeds With Re-ventilation of North Goonyella"Coal Age Website, 30 May 2019.
  5. Coal Age, "Peabody extends mine life at North Goonyella coking coal mine" 26 July 2018.
  6. Matthew Stevens, "Cloud over Peabody's reputation lingers after Goonyella fire", Financial Review, 26 July 2018.
  7. Peabody, "Peabody Releases Initial Learnings From North Goonyella Incident", Peabody Website, 27 March 2019.
  8. Mining Data Solutions, "Reserves: North Goonyella Mine", Mining Data Solutions, accessed 21 November 2019.