Queensland is known for its successful mining industry and Mackay happens to be situated in a coal-rich region. In fact, mines employ so many people here that out of 1,500 jobs in the region, 500-600 are mine specific. At FleetCrew, we provide mine spec vehicles with the highest standard of safety, reliability and functionality.
Since our newest branch is located in Mackay, we are excited to run you through some of the closest and most profitable mines in the region. Here’s our quick-list in no particular order:
Distance from Mackay: 2-hour 25-minute drive
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Peak Downs is another large open cut coal mine owned by BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi. It opened in 1972 and produced about eight million tonnes of coking coal annually. It is located 160km south-west of Mackay with most of its employees living in Moranbah and Dysart. In the 2015-16 financial year, The National Pollution Inventory revealed Peak Downs as the biggest generator of airborne pollution in Australia. Tours are available at this mine once a month through Isaac Regional Council—this offers an insight into the mining industry.
Distance from Mackay: 1-hour 30-minute drive
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Located 150 km west of Mackay, this mine began producing coal in 1995 as an open cut operation. Even today, its overburden is removed using a single dragline, two excavators and a fleet of rear dump trucks. South Walker Creek mine is owned by Billiton-Mitsui Coal Australia (BHP) who recently changed the contracting agent from Thiess to HSE Group in 2013. The reserves have about 298 million tonnes of coking coal and SW Creek annually produces 3.8 million tonnes of coal. In December 2018, a strong performance by the mine helped lift metallurgical coal production performance for BHP.
Distance from Mackay: 1-hour 40-minute drive
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With over 970 million tonnes of coking coal, Hail Creek Mine is one of the largest coal reserves in the world. It is situated about 120 km south-west of Mackay and lies in the northern Bowen Basin mining region. The construction of this mine started in 2001 and it began producing coal in 2003. Glencore acquired Hail Creek in 2018 identifying the mine as a high-quality asset. It supplies international markets with hard coking and thermal coal. Hail Creek uses dragline, track and shovel method since it is an open cut mine.
Distance from Mackay: 2-hour 10-minute drive
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This longwall mine faced closure in 2018 following a fire that left it battling elevated gas levels. It is expected to make a comeback in 2020 based on Peabody Energy’s plans. This underground mine is 160 km west of Mackay and extracts metallurgical coal. North Goonyella sold about 1.8 million tons of coal in 2018 and has 210 employees working for it currently (2019). It is said to produce “premium quality, medium-vol, high-strength coking coal with exceptional coking qualities”.
Distance from Mackay: 2-hour 36-minute ride
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200 km southwest of Mackay lies the Saraji coal mine, producing over 10 million tonnes of coal annually. It commenced its operations in 1974 and is another mine owned by the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance. Saraji uses open-cast extraction methods and employed 1,572 employees in 2017. It lies in the Bowen Basin and its on-site employees are accommodated to a high standard in Dysart. Coal from this mine is exported via the Goonyella railway line.
Distance from Mackay: 2-hour 50-minute drive
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Middlemount is a relatively new mine that began operating in 2011. It is an incorporated joint venture between Peabody Energy Australia and Yancoal Australia. Middlemount Coal Pty Ltd claims that its philosophy involves taking care of its people as well as the environment. The mine produces medium-volatile pulverized coal injection (PCI) coal and semi-hard coking coal for the export market. It is estimated that this mine will last for over 20 years. It produced about 4.1 million tonnes of coal per annum.
Distance from Mackay: 1-hour 40-minute drive
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Located 140 km southwest of Mackay, Coppabella mine began operating in 1988. It is jointly owned by Peabody Energy, CITIC Resources, Marubeni, Sojitz, Nippon Steel and others. The premium, low-vol PCI produced here is exported via the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal to global seaborne centres. Coppabella mine sold 2.7 million tons of coal in 2018 and has about 460 employees in 2019. The mine owners claim that a strong culture of community engagement and corporate responsibility exists at Coppabella.
Distance from Mackay: 2-hour 25-minute drive
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This coal mine 160 km south-west of Mackay commenced operations in 1971. Back then, it was owned by CQCA joint venturers and managed by Utah Development Co. Today, it is owned by the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance. This is an open-cut mine that extracts coking black coal. Goonyella railway line helps export the coal to Hay Point from where it reaches markets worldwide. Other than the Broadmeadow underground longwall operation, the mines use dragline, truck and shovel fleets to remove overburden. Goonyella Riverside is said to have more than 20 years of accessible coal left.
Distance from Mackay: 1-hour 40-minute drive
150 km south of Mackay lies Moorvale mine which is owned by Peabody Energy Australia. This open-cut coal mine began operation in 2003, producing low-volatile pulverised coal injection (LV-PCI). 2.1 million tonnes of coal was sold from the mines in 2018, and it employs 305 employees in 2019. Peabody has a 73 percent interest in the joint venture that owns the Coppabella and Moorvale mines. The coal seam is quite narrow with a number of fault lines at Moorvale. It also has deeply dipping characteristics. This surface type mine rails coal to the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal, south of Mackay. It is then exported to customers in North Asia, China, Brazil and Europe.
Distance from Mackay: 2-hour 15-minute drive
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Located 165 km west of Mackay, Byerwen Mine is an open-cut coal project that commenced operations in 2017. The mine is owned by QCoal group, an independent Queensland-based company. Macmahon Holdings currently has a three-year mining contract until 2020. Byerwen mine produces up to 10 million tonnes of hard coking coal annually. It is estimated that the mine will hire up to 500 employees once fully operational. Currently, 5.5% of the mining workforce identify as indigenous.
That’s the end of our list, folks! We have a wide range of mine spec vehicles and are the trusted supplier for long-standing mining companies such as Santos, BHP, Arrow Energy and many more companies. What’s more? At FleetCrew, we can customise our vehicles to suit the specific mining specifications you require!
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