Echo mine

The Echo mine is an opencast bituminous coal mine southeast of Reefton on the West Coast of the South Island. The mine is owned by Francis Mining.

Project Details
Location: Within a 1200 ha tenement 10 km southeast of Reefton on the West Coast of the South Island. Part or all of the 291 ha mine is on Department of Conservation land. Coordinates: -42.164326,171.957271 Coal field: Garvey Creek Historical background: Current owner: Francis Mining, which, together with ROA Mining Company, makes up New Zealand Coal and Carbon Ltd (NZCC), New Zealand’s largest non-government owned coal mining company and exporter of coal. Status: Operating Production capacity: 45,000 tonnes/year Estimated recoverable reserves: Francis Mining states that the tenement has more than 100 years of coal reserves. The opencast operation is continually being expanded and is in the planning phase for underground mine development, which will work a coal seam at considerable depth. Mining technique: Opencast. Coal is extracted using “truck and shovel” methods, processed on site, then transported by road and rail either to the port of Lyttleton near Christchurch or else to the port of Greymouth on the West Coast. Doug Hood Mining described the work as being done, “mainly in difficult terrain with complex geology and underground workings … Coal folded and dipped over short distances making planning and recovery difficult.” Type of coal: Bituminous – specialist low ash semi-soft coking coal Solid fuel calorific value (gross) 30.87 MJ/kg (Range for NZ coal 15.25–31.95 MJ/kg Market information: Primary overseas markets are coke and other carbon product producers including specialised silicon producers in Saudi Arabia, Canada and Australia. Environmental and/or health & safety issues:

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * New Zealand and coal
 * New Zealand Mining Industry Association
 * Solid Energy