The Collinsville 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

Springlands Springlands is a suburb to the west of Blenheim's central district. It is located on and around (Nelson Street), the main road to Renwick. It has a tavern, various takeaways, and a superstore. Demographics Springlands covers and had an e ...

and Collinsville in the

Whitsunday Region The Whitsunday Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by two previous local government areas with a history extending back to the establishment of regional local government ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. The open-cut mine lies in the northern

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 inclu ...

. Collinsville produces coking and steaming coal for both domestic use and export. Exports leave the country via

Abbot Point Abbot Point Port is home to the North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT), the most northerly deepwater coal port of Australia, situated approximately north-west of the township of Bowen (Queensland). Established in 1984, it consists of a rail i ...

. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 196 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

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and the world. Collinsville has an annual production capacity of 6 million tonnes of coal.

History

Mining began at the site in 1919. Because it is close to the

Port of Townsville Port of Townsville is a government-owned Corporation and seaport in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It is the third largest seaport in Queensland after Port of Brisbane and the Port of Gladstone. It is located south of the mouth of Ross Cre ...

where American coal-fired warships were based during World War II, men were requisition to the mine. On 1 May 1952, 150 miners took part in Queensland's first stay down strike. The men stayed in the underground mine to protest the lack of payment for a days work. The miners were unable to enter the mine on 15 April due to a lack of winchman. In 1954, seven miners lives were lost at the mine in the Collinsville coal mine disaster. A mining heritage centre was opened 50 years later to commemorate the disaster.

Mount Isa Mines Mount Isa Mines Limited ("MIM") operates the Mount Isa copper, lead, zinc and silver mines near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia as part of the Glencore group of companies. For a brief period in 1980, MIM was Australia's largest company. It has ...

(MIM) gained a controlling interest in 1972. In 2003, MIM was purchased by

Xstrata Xstrata plc was an Anglo-Swiss multinational mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It was a major producer of coal (and the world's largest exporter of thermal coal), copper, ...

. Management of the mine was continued by Thiess until early 2013. In July 2013, more than 300 workers were dismissed in an effort to return the mine to profitability.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collinsville Coal Mine Coal mines in Queensland 1919 establishments in Australia Mines in Central Queensland Surface mines in Australia Itochu Collinsville, Queensland

History

See also

References