Kooragang Coal Terminal

Kooragang coal terminal is one of two terminals at the coal export facility operated by Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS) Limited in Newcastle, Australia. In addition to the Kooragang terminal PWCS also operates the Carrington coal terminal on the other side of the South Channel of the Hunter River. Each terminal includes equipment for delivery and storage of coal to the terminal, and for loading the coal onto transport vessels.

The Kooragang coal terminal began operating in 1984 and was managed by BHP until its purchase by PWCS in 1990. From 1994-2002, the facility was expanded from a shiploading capacity of 64 million tonnes to 77 million tonnes. The terminal has been further upgraded and, as of September 2011, has an annual capacity of 88 million tonnes. The terminal is part of the Hunter Valley Coal Chain, a chain of coal delivery from mines in the Hunter Valley to the Port of Newcastle, and all of the coal received at Kooragang is rail delivery. The port of Newcastle is the world's largest coal export port.

Direct Action against Kooragang coal terminal
July 13 & 14, 2008: Newcastle, NSW, Australia Climate Camp stops coal trains at world's largest coal export port

On July 14, 2008, five activists stopped coal loading at the Kooragang coal terminal for more than two hours by chaining themselves to a conveyor belt. Later that afternoon four protesters padlocked themselves to the tracks at the Carrington coal terminal, stopping all train traffic until police were able cut the group free. All nine were arrested.

The direct actions, organized as part of the Australian Camp for Climate Action, were an attempt to bring worldwide attention to coal's role in climate change and the expansion of Australian coal exports.

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