Coal mining in Australia

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Coal is mined in every state of Australia as well as the Northern Territory. It is used to generate electricity and is exported. 75% of the coal mined in Australia is exported, mostly to eastern Asia. In 2000/01, 258.5 million tonnes of coal was mined, and 193.6 million tonnes exported. Coal also provides about 85% of Australia's electricity production.[1]

Coal mining in Australia has become more controversial because of the strong link between burning coal, including exported coal, and climate change, global warming and sea level rise.[2]

Contents

[edit] Forms of coal

Two forms of coal are mined in Australia, depending on the region: high quality black coal and lower quality brown coal.

Black coal is found in Queensland and New South Wales, and is used for both domestic power generation and for export overseas. It is generally mined underground before being transported by rail to power stations, or export shipping terminals. Black coal was also once exported to other Australian states for power generation and industrial boilers.

Brown coal is found in Victoria and South Australia, and is of lower quality due a higher ash and water content. As a result Victoria adopted German power station and briquette technology in the 1920s to utilize the brown coal reserves of the Latrobe Valley. Today there are now three open cut brown coal mines in Victoria used for baseload power generation.

[edit] Fast facts

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  1. Coal is responsible for 42.1% of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions, not counting export coal, based on 2004 GHG inventory. [2] (Australia has 564.7 Mt CO2e. Of that, Energy was responsible for 387.2 Mt CO2e. Of that, Stationary Energy was responsible for 279.9 Mt CO2e. Approximately 85% of stationary energy is produced by burning coal. Coal is therefore responsible for approx 237.9 Mt CO2e or 42.1% of Australia's total GHG emissions. There needs to be minor adjustments for the amounts of major hydro electric, gas, wind and solar power to arrive at a more exact amount and proportion, which is likely to be higher because major hydro produces negligible emissions.)
  2. Australia is the world's largest exporter of black coal, a position it has held since 1984
  3. Australia has more than 42 billion tonnes of economically recoverable reserves of black coal throughout Australia. The production for export markets is currently based on deposits in Queensland and New South Wales
  4. Australia is the fourth largest coal producer in the world
  5. Australia produced 258.5 million tonnes of coal in 2000/01, of which nearly 230 million tonnes was saleable coal
  6. Coal is Australia's largest export commodity
  7. Australia exports 75% of its coal production, making the country the largest coal exporter in the world - a position Australia has held since 1986
  8. Exports of 193.6 million tonnes in 2000/01 were worth $10.8 billion or 10% of Australia's merchandise trade
  9. Coal provides about 85% of Australia's electricity generation requirements
  10. The coal industry employs 18,840 workers directly and many more indirectly
  11. Productivity has increased by 15% annually since 1996/97
  12. Many Australian coals have environmental benefits such as high energy content, low levels of sulphur, nitrogen and ash
  13. Australia has about 77 billion tonnes of coal resources
  14. The Asian market accounts for 80% of Australian coal exports with the top three markets being Japan (47%), Korea (12%) and Taiwan (9%)
  15. In the metallurgical coal market, Australia is competitive in exporting coal to the Asian region and Europe.
  16. In the thermal coal market, Australia is competitive in exporting coal to the Asian region, with its main competitors being China and Indonesia. Australia is less competitive in exporting coal to the European market due to shipping distances, and as such the main competition is from South Africa, Colombia, USA, and the Russian Federation.

[1]

[edit] Major mines

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Major Australian Coal Mines [3][4]

Mine State Location Ultimate Owner Lat & Long Type of Coal Million Tons Mined PA Million Tons Exported PA Major Buyers Major Method
Anglesea VIC Anglesea Alcoa of Australia 38°23′42″S 144°09′58″E / -38.395, 144.166 Lignite ? nil Anglesea Power Station Open Cut
Beltana NSW Singleton Xstrata ? Thermal 7.6 ? ? Underground
Bengalla NSW Muswellbrook Coal and Allied ? Thermal ? ? ? Open Cut
Callide QLD Callide (Biloela) Anglo Coal[5] 24°19′38″S 150°37′05″E / -24.327292, 150.617906 Thermal ? ? ? Open Cut
Capcoal QLD Middlemount Anglo Coal ? Hard Coking Coal & PCI 7 ? ? Open Cut & Underground
Dawson QLD Dawson (Moura) Anglo Coal ? Soft Coking & Thermal 7 ? ? Open Cut
Drayton NSW Hunter Valley Anglo Coal ? Thermal 5 ? ? Open Cut
Broadmeadows QLD Moranbah BMA ? Thermal ? ? ? Underground
Blackwater QLD Duringa BMA ? Thermal/Coking 13 ? ? Open Cut
Blair Athol [6] QLD Clermont Rio Tinto 22°41′42″S 147°32′24″E / -22.695, 147.54 Thermal 12 ? ? Open Cut
Burton QLD Nebo Theiss ? Thermal/Coking 4 ? ? Open Cut
Callide QLD Biloela Anglo Coal ? Thermal 9 ? ? Open Cut
Collinsville QLD Collinsville Xtrata ? Thermal/Coking 5 ? ? Open Cut
Coppabella QLD Coppabella Macarthur Coal ? PCI 5 ? ? Open Cut
Curragh QLD Blackwater Westfarmers ? Thermal/Coking 7 ? ? Open Cut
Goonyella/Riverside QLD Moranbah BMA ? ? ? ? ? Open Cut.
Griffin Coal WA Collie Ric Stowe ? Bitumous ? nil Bluewaters Power, Synergy Power Open Cut
Hail Creek Qld Nebo Rio Tinto ? Hard Coking Coal 4.5 all ? Open Cut
Leigh Creek SA Leigh Creek ? ? Lignite ? ? ? Open Cut
Loy Lang VIC Traralgon Loy Yang Power ? Lignite ? nil Loy Yang Power Station Open Cut
Moorvale QLD Moranbah Macarthur Coal ? Thermal/PCI ? ? ? Open Cut
Moranbah North QLD Moranbah Anglo Coal ? Hard Coking Coal 4.5 ? ? Underground
Morwell VIC Morwell International Power 38°16′22″S 146°23′30″E / -38.272705, 146.391662 Lignite ? nil Hazelwood Power Station,
Energy Brix		 Open Cut
Norwich Park QLD Dysart BMA 22°46′48″S 148°28′48″E / -22.78, 148.48 Soft Coking Coal 6 all ? Open Cut
Peak Downs QLD Moranbah BMA ? Hard Coking Coal 13 all ? Open Cut
Saraji QLD Dysart BMA ? Hard Coking Coal 7.5 all ? Open Cut
Ulan NSW Ulan via Mudgee Xstrata ? Thermal 5 ? ? Open Cut & Underground
Wesfarmers Premier Coal WA Collie Wesfarmers ? Bitumous 3.5 nil Synergy Power Open Cut
Yallourn VIC Yallourn TRUenergy 38°10′42″S 146°20′21″E / -38.1784, 146.3391 Lignite ? nil Yallourn Power Station Open Cut
Bulga Coal NSW Singleton Xstrata ? Thermal/Coking 10.8 ? ? Open Cut

[edit] Proposed mines

Major Australian Coal Mines[7]
Mine State Location Ultimate Owner Lat & Long Type of Coal Est Tons Mined PA Est Tons Exported PA Expected Major Buyers Major Method
Anvil Hill NSW Wybong Xstrata Coal ? ? 10Mt ? ? Open Cut

[edit] Major export markets for Australian coal

Major Export Markets For Australian Coal[8]
Country Tons Coking Tons Steaming Tons Total Rank % of exports
Japan ? ? ? 1 47
Korea ? ? ? 2 12
Taiwan ? ? ? 3 9
China 5 34 12 56

[edit] Major overseas end users of Australian coal

Major End Users of Australian Coal[9]
Purchaser Country Tons Type of Coal Purpose
China ? ? ? ?
Japan ? ? ? ?

[edit] Major coal export ports

Major Australian Coal Export Ports[10]
Port State Mill Tons
2000/1		 Mill Tons
2001/2		 Australian #
2002		 World #
2002
Hay Point QLD 69.283 70,753 1 1
Newcastle NSW 67.283 69.299 2 ?
Gladstone QLD 35.436 37.502? ? ?
Abbot Point QLD 10.562 11,878 ? ?
Port Kembla NSW 8.573 8.206 ? ?
Brisbane QLD 2.319 2.889 ? ?
Total na 193.456 200.527 na ?

[edit] Major coal mining companies

Major Australian Coal Mining Companies)[11]
Company Main Mines Tot Coal Mined
AMCI Holdings Australia Pty Ltd ? ?
Anglo Coal Australia Ltd ? ?
Bloomfield Collieries Pty Ltd ? ?
BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) Coal Operations Pty Ltd ? ?
Centennial Coal Company Ltd ? ?
Coalpac Pty Ltd ? ?
Cornwall Coal Company ? ?
Donaldson Coal Pty Ltd ? ?
Enhance Place Pty Ltd ? ?
Ensham Resources Pty Ltd ? ?
Felix Resources Limited ? ?
Foxleigh Joint Venture ? ?
Gloucester Coal Ltd ? ?
Hunter Valley Energy Coal ? ?
Idemitsu Australia Resources Pty Ltd ? ?
Illawarra Coal Holdings Pty Ltd ? ?
Jellinbah Resources Pty Ltd ? ?
Lithgow Coal Company Pty Ltd ? ?
Macarthur Coal Limited ? ?
Muswellbrook Coal Company Ltd ? ?
New Hope Corporation Ltd ? ?
Peabody Pacific Pty Ltd ? ?
Rio Tinto Coal Australia Pty Ltd ? ?
Wesfarmers Coal Ltd ? ?
Whitehaven Coal Mining Pty Ltd ? ?
Xstrata Coal Pty Ltd ? ?

[edit] Environmental impacts

The Australian community is understandably concerned about any mining activity that could place private or public property or valuable landscapes at risk. Extensive rehabilitation of areas mined helps to ensure that land capability, after coal mining, meets agreed and appropriate standards.[3]

Coal is the principal fossil fuel used in power generation not only in Australia but in many other countries. Links between coal mining, coal burning, and climate change are being discussed widely in Australia.[4][5]

On 27 November 2006 the NSW Land & Environment Court judge Justice Nicola Pain made the historic decision to set aside the Director-General's acceptance of the Environmental Assessment for the Anvil Hill coal mine, on the grounds that it did not include a comprehensive greenhouse gas assessment, even though the proposed mining of coal was for export. However, on 7 June 2007 the planning minister for NSW Frank Sartor reversed this decision and approved the mine, attaching a list of 80 conditions to the mine's operation including conservation offsets. [6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b The Importance of Coal in the Modern World - Australia. Gladstone Centre for Clean Coal. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  2. ^ CSIRO's Climate Change Impacts on Australia and the Benefits of Early Action to Reduce Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions" [1]
  3. ^ Reducing the Environmental Impacts of Coal Mining
  4. ^ Australian coal mine blocked over climate impact
  5. ^ Climate concerns fuel coal mine opposition campaign
  6. ^ NSW Govt approves Anvil Hill coal mine

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Australia Portal