The North Goonyella Coal Mine is a
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
mine located in the
Bowen Basin
The Bowen Basin contains the largest coal reserves in Australia. This major coal-producing region contains one of the world's largest deposits of bituminous coal. The Basin contains much of the known Permian coal resources in Queensland includ ...
at
Moranbah
Moranbah is a coal mining town and locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Moranbah had a population of 8,735 people.
In addition to the permanent population, Moranbah also has a large fly-in fly-out popula ...
in
Central Queensland
Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coas ...
, Australia. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 175 million tonnes of
coking coal
Metallurgical coal or coking coal is a grade of coal that can be used to produce good-quality coke. Coke is an essential fuel and reactant in the blast furnace process for primary steelmaking. The demand for metallurgical coal is highly coupled ...
, one of the largest coal reserves in Australia and the world. The mine has an annual production capacity of 2 million tonnes of coal.
2.6 million tonnes of coal were produced in 2012.
North Goonyella was acquired by
Peabody Energy
Peabody Energy is a coal mining and energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Its primary business consists of the mining, sale, and distribution of coal, which is purchased for use in electricity generation and steelmaking. Peabody ...
in 2004.
The site consists of an open-cut mine known as Eaglefield and an underground mine called North Goonyella.
The two operations share the same
Coal handling and preparation plant. Water used by the mine is sourced from
Burton Gorge Dam.
The mine is serviced by the
Goonyella railway line
The Goonyella railway system is located in Central Queensland, Australia. It services the coal mining area of the Bowen Basin, carrying coal to the Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminals 20 km southeast of Mackay, as well as products t ...
and from December 2011 the
GAP line.
See also
*
Coal mining in Australia
Coal is mined in every state of Australia. The largest black coal resources occur in Queensland and New South Wales. About 70% of coal mined in Australia is exported, mostly to eastern Asia, and of the balance most is used in electricity gener ...
*
List of mines in Australia
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:North Goonyella Coal Mine
Coal mines in Queensland
Underground mines in Australia
1994 establishments in Australia
Mines in Central Queensland
Peabody Energy