Austar coal mine

The Austar coal mine is an underground coal mine, previously known as Southland Coal Mine, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Yancoal Australia. It is located in the Lower Hunter approximately 65 kilometers West of Newcastle.

On its website, Yancoal Australia states that produces "an annual saleable production capacity of 1.7mtpa of low ash, high fluidity Semi-Hard Coking coal ... The Austar Mine underwent a $250 million upgrade prior to re-opening in October 2006 and as part of this upgrade the Longwall Top Coal Caving Technology (LTCCT) was introduced. The system is ideal for thick seams (from 5-12 metres), whereas standard longwall equipment is only capable of mining in seams of up to 4.5 metres. The Greata seam, in the area of the Austar Coal Mine, is a thick seam and thus by using this mining method, up to 80% of the additional coal can be accessed, which would otherwise be lost." The coal is exported through the Port of Newcastle, New South Wales.

Expansion
The Austar coal mine underground (Stage 3) expansion project has received government planning approval and is expected to be commissioned in 2012-13. The mine will produce 3.6 million tonnes of hard coking coal. The project will cost $80m to construct and will employ 60 people during construction and 275 when operating.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Australia and coal
 * New South Wales and coal