Queensland and coal

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Bowen Basin Coal Growth project

• Bowen Basin Coal Growth project http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/projects

Coal export infrastructure

Existing coal export infrastructure

Existing coal export infrastructure in Queensland includes:

• the Abbot Point Coal Terminal. This is currently being expanded from its current capacity of 25 million tonnes to 50 million tonnes a year. The terminal currently exports coal from the "Newlands, Collinsville and Sonoma mines. In addition, small quantities of coal may be brought north on the coastal rail line from the Goonyella system for export," the North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation, a subsidiary of the Ports Corporation states on its website. In April 2011, a subsidiary of the Indian company Adani Enterprises, India's largest coal importer, agreed to pay A$1.83bn ($1.98bn) for a 99-year lease on the terminal. Further expansion plans are being canvassed to increase the coal export capacity to approximately 230 million tonnes a year. The Deputy Chief Executive of North Queensland Bulk Ports (NQBP), Jeff Stewart-Harris, told the Daily Mercury in May 2011 that the ultimate capacity of the terminal could be 350 million tonnes of coal. See Abbot Point Coal Terminal article for more details).

• Brisbane Coal Terminal is an export coal terminal which is owned by Queensland Bulk Handling, which in turn is owned by New Hope Corporation. QBH states that the port has the ability to load 48,000 tonnes per day.

• Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal is located 38km south of Mackay. The terminal, has has been leased from the state government, is operated by DBCT Management Pty Ltd, a private company. Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal is immediately adjacent to the Hay Point Coal Terminal.

• Hay Point Coal Terminal, which is located 38km south of Mackay, is owned and operated by BHP Billiton. The company states on its website that "the terminal has the capacity to handle and despatch around 43-45 million tonnes of coal a year.".

Proposed coal export terminals

• Balaclava Island Coal Terminal is a proposed new export coal terminal which is currently being investigated by Xstrata Coal Queensland, a wholly owned subsidiary of Xstrata Coal. Balaclava Island is located approximately 40 kilometres north of Gladstone. In July 2008 Xstrata Coal announced that it would undertake a pre-feasibility study for a coal export port for up to 20 million tonnes of coal per annum.

• Wiggins Island Coal Terminal is a coal export terminal for the port of Gladstone which has been proposed by Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal Pty Ltd, a consortium of 16 coal companies. At the end of September 2010 the consortium announced that eight coal companies had made commitments to export 27 million tonnes of coal which would be sufficient to enable the funding of the first stage of the terminal. The consortium stated that it expected that financing the proposal would be completed early in 2011 and shipments commence in 2014.

Existing coal mines in Queensland

BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) mines and infrastructure

BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), Australia operates the:

• Goonyella Riverside mine;
• Peak Downs mine;
• Saraji mine;
• Norwich Park mine:
• Blackwater mine:
• the Gregory Crinum;
• the Hay Point Coal Terminal;

BHP Mitsui Coal mines

BHP Mitsui Coal, in which BHP Billiton has an 80% interest and which produces metallurgical and thermal coal which is marketed through BMA, owns:

• the South Walker Creek mine; and
• the Poitrel mine.

Peabody Energy Australia mines

Peabody Energy Australia, a subsidiary of Peabody Energy, owns the:

• Burton Mine;
• North Goonyella/Eaglefield Complex;
• Millennium Mine; and the
• Wilkie Creek Mine.

Rio Tinto Coal Australia

Rio Tinto Coal Australia, a wholly own subsidiary of Rio Tinto, operates:

• the Blair Athol mine (Rio Tinto has a 71 per cent interest in the mine);
• the Kestrel mine (Rio Tinto has an 80 per cent interest in the mine);
• the Hail Creek mine (Rio Tinto has an 82 per cent interest in the mine); and
• the Clermont mine which is currently being developed. (Rio Tinto has a 50.1 per cent interest in the mine).

Xstrata Coal mines

• Collinsville Coal mine, Open cut, 55% Xstrata Coal;
• Newlands Coal, Underground and open cut, 55% Xstrata Coal;
• Oaky Creek Coal, Underground, 55% Xstrata Coal;
• Rolleston Coal, Open Cut, 75% Xstrata Coal;

Coal deposits and coal projects in Queensland

BHP-Billiton coal projects

• the Togara South coal project
• the Daunia coal project
• the Red Hill coal project
• the Peak Downs East coal project
• the Sariji East coal project
• the Liskeard coal project
• the Nebo West coal project
• the Bee Creek coal project
• the Wards Well - Lancewood coal project

Rio Tinto Coal Australia projects

In its 2009 Annual report Rio Tinto also lists a number of potential coal projects in its coal resource base. These are:

• the Lake Elphinstone coal project; Rio Tinto states that the project has 162 million tonnes of reserves of which 120 million tonnes are indicated and 42 million tonnes are inferred. Rio Tinto has a 82% interest in the project;
• the Mount Robert coal project;
• the Kestrel Mine West project. Rio Tinto states that the project has 139 million tonnes of reserves of which 106 million tonnes are indicated and 33 million tonnes are inferred. Rio Tinto has a 80% interest in the project;
• the Valeria coal project. Rio Tinto states that the project has 762 million tonnes of reserves of which 698 million tonnes are indicated and 64 million tonnes are inferred. Rio Tinto has a 71.2% interest in the project;
• the Winchester South coal project. It states that the project, in which it has a 75% interest, has a total resource of 192 million tonnes (of which 17 million tonnes was indicated and 175 million tonnes was inferred). Rio indicated that following a reassessment of the deposit in the 2009 financial year the size of the coal reserves had been upgraded from the previous years estimate of 97 million tonnes.)

Xstrata coal projects

• Togara North coal project, 33.3% Xstrata Coal;
• Cook Colliery, 95% Xstrata Coal; and
• Wandoan Coal Project, 75% Xstrata Coal.

Citizens groups campaigning on coal issues

• Six Degrees
• Capricorn Conservation Council
• Mackay Conservation Group
• Bimblebox Nature Refuge
• Future Foods Queensland
• Friends of Felton
• Bowen Resident's Action Association
• Aldershot And District Against Mine

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

• Australia and coal
• New South Wales and coal
• Coal terminals

External resources

Queensland government resources

• "Projects: Category > Coal", Department of Infrastructure and Planning
• "Projects: Category > Electricity", Department of Infrastructure and Planning
• "Interactive resource and tenure maps", Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.
• "Coal Statistics", Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation

Overview of Queensland coal expansion

• Guy Pearse, ‘The Dumb State?: Queensland’s Continuing Carbon Addiction, Speech at the Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, October 28, 2010.

Other resources on Queensland climate emissions

• The Climate Group (Australia), "This Week’s Emissions: Queensland", The Climate Group website, accessed August 2010. (This webpage provides an estimate of total greenhouse gas emissions over the previous week and preceding year. It account for nearly all emissions from power generation).