Bowen Coking Coal reported that coal mining has commenced at the Broadmeadow East Pit near Moranbah in Queensland’s Bowen Basin as the company consolidates its position as Queensland’s new independent metallurgical coal producer. Coal from Broadmeadow East is planned to be initially processed at the neighboring Fitzroy coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP) under an infrastructure sharing agreement with Fitzroy (CQ) Pty Ltd and exported through the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal.
As the first producing pit of Bowen’s expanded Burton Complex, which includes the Burton and Lenton Pits, 20 km to the north, Broadmeadow East coal will be processed through the Burton CHPP following the completion of its refurbishment in early 2023.
After final approvals for the project were granted in March this year, Bowen announced the appointment of BUMA Australia Pty Ltd as the mining contractor in May.
Bowen Managing Director and CEO Gerhard Redelinghuys said the mining of first coal at Broadmeadow East was a significant achievement for the company. “The fact that we have commenced coal mining in less than four months from final approvals being granted is a great testament to the hard work and capabilities of our company and contractors,” Redelinghuys said.
The coal at Broadmeadow East has the flexibility to produce a primary coking coal product of either high quality (7.5% ash, up to CSN 7.5) or high yield (9.2% ash, CSN 4.5). In both of the primary product cases, the secondary energy coal created from the primary coking coal discard has a calorific value of more than 6,500 kcal/kg (ad) which is also a sought-after product for the export coal markets.
Broadmeadow East’s first coal follows the company’s first coal shipment from the Bluff Mine near Blackwater in June. First run-of-mine (ROM) coal is targeted for late Q4 2022 from the nearby Burton Pit as the company works toward a 5-million-metric-ton-per-year ROM capacity by 2024.
