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Boggabri Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Boggabri, New South Wales, Australia.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Boggabri Coal Mine | Boggabri, New South Wales, Australia | -30.6116182, 150.1550389 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating | – | 2006 | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 5.7[1] | 2022[1] | Surface | Open Pit | 20.56 | 60* | 572* |
Table 4: Coal resources and destination
| Total Reserves (Mt) | Year of Total Reserves Recorded | Total Resources (Mt) | Coalfield | Coal Type | Coal Grade | Primary Consumer/ Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | – | Gunnedah | Bituminous | Thermal & Met | Port of Newcastle |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Boggabri Coal Operations | Idemitsu Australia Resources - Idemitsu Kosan [80%]; Energia Group [10%]; Nippon Steel [10%] | Japan, Australia |
Expansion/Extension
Table 6: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Project Type | Project Phase | Added Capacity (Mtpa)* | Start Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposed | Permitted[2] | Expansion | – | 0.5 | 2025 (planned) |
Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the GEM April 2024 Global Coal Mine Tracker dataset.
Background
The Boggabri coal mine is an open-cut coal mine located 17 kilometers north-east of Boggabri in New South Wales, Australia. It is operated by Boggabri Coal Pty Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Idemitsu Australia Resources Pty Ltd.[3]
The Boggabri mine was granted approval in 1989, and operations commenced in 2006. Idemitsu, its current owner, took full control of the project in 1992.[4] Chugoku Electric Power Australia Resources Pty Ltd acquired 10% of interest in the project in August 2014, in part to ensure that the company’s power plants would have a stable source of fuel.[5] NS Boggabri Pty Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Australia Pty Limited, acquired 10% interest in the mine in 2015.[6]
In 2012, the NSW Government granted approval for the Boggabri Coal Expansion Project to raise the original footprint of the Boggabri mine by 658 hectares and to increase its rate of production from 5 million tonnes/year to 8.6 million tonnes/year.[7] Additionally, it expanded the life of the mine to December 2033. The government also approved the construction of a new Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP) and the construction of a 17 km rail spur line and rail load-out facility.[8]
After it is mined, coal is processed through the on-site coal handling and preparation plant and then transported to the Port of Newcastle for international export.[3]
- Operator: Boggabri Coal Operations Pty Ltd[3]
- Owners: Idemitsu Australia Resources (80%), Chugoku Electric Power Australia Resources Pty Ltd (10%), NS Boggabri Pty Limited (10%)[3]
- Location: 17 km north-east of Boggabri in the Gunnedah Basin, New South Wales, Australia[3]
- GPS Coordinates: -30.6116182, 150.1550389
- Status: Operating[9]
- Production: 5.3 million tonnes per annum (2022)[10]
- Total Resource:
- Mineable Reserves:
- Coal Type: Semi-soft coking & PCI (pulverized coal injection) coal (Thermal & Metallurgical)[3]
- Mine Size: 2056 hectares[11]
- Mine Type: Open cut[3]
- Start Year: 2006[3]
- Source of Financing:
Expansion
As of 2021, Boggabri Coal Operations Pty Limited (BCOPL) is seeking to both expand and extend the Boggabri mine via its Boggabri Coal Mine Modification 8 Project. The project would increase the mine's current rate of coal extraction from the current rate of 8.6 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) to a maximum of 9.1 Mtpa. If approved it will also increase the approved maximum depth of mining down to the Templemore Coal Seam to recover an additional 61.6 Million tonnes of Run of Mine (ROM) coal resource within the currently approved Mine Disturbance Boundary.[12][13] This extension will result in a six-year extension to the Boggabri mine's life (that is, from the end of 2033 to the end of 2039).[13]
As of April 2022, BCOPL received notification from the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPE) that an amendment pathway was accepted and both the updated Response to Submissions Report and Amendment Report for the application is proposed to be lodged with DPE late 2022.[13]
Public Controversy
The 2012 expansion project brought with it significant citizen backlash. Community members were concerned about that the project would destroy the adjacent Leard State Forest, and animal and plant species within it.[14] The company’s own proposal for the expansion indicated that approximately 1,385 hectares of native vegetation would be impacted, including 624 hectares of Box-Gum Woodland which is listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995.[15]
In addition, citizens brought up concerns about an inadequate rehabilitation plan, community fragmentation that would disproportionately hurt farmers, decreased air and groundwater quality, impacts to irrigation and the closure of an important access road.[14]
In September 2012, multiple anti-mine actions were taken at Boggabri mine. Two activists climbed to the top of the mine’s coal crushing plant and hung up a banner that read “Stop the coal rush: protect health, water, climate.”[16] Additionally, an 84-year-old man locked himself to the gates of the Boggabi coal mine to protest environmental damage that the mine expansion could cause in the Leard State Forest.[17]
Boggabri has continued to propose modifications to the mine that have drawn community backlash. In 2016, they received approval to add two production bores and four contingency production bores to supply water for use in coal process and mining operations.[11] Several public objections were made by nearby community members expressing concern about how the implementation of bores would impact the water supply for those who lived nearby.[18]
“We are immediate neighbours to the East who rely greatly on underground water for stock and personal use,” wrote Jim Picton in a public submission about the proposed modification on NSW’s Department of Planning, Industry and Environment website.[19] “90 percent of our water usage is from bores and wells and if we were to lose that capacity, our buisness would be become redundant, as we are sheep and cattle producers. … We need guarantees that these bores will not effect the capacity and production of the water supply that already exists.”
Project Expansion Details
- Status: Proposed
- Capacity: +0.5 million tonnes per annum (9.1 total for the mine)[12]
- Mineable Reserves: 61 million tonnes[12]
- Start Year: 2025[12]
- Source of Financing:
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240206173737/https://www.idemitsu.com.au/mining/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/310330-Boggabri-Coal-Mine-AR-22_.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 06 February 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240202175958/https://www.qmeb.com.au/new-coal-expansion-project-approved/. Archived from the original on 02 February 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 "Boggabri Coal," "Idemitsu website," accessed May 2020.
- ↑ MICHAEL O'MEARA, "IDEMITSU TAKES OVER BOGGABRI COAL PROJECT," "Financial Review," January 8, 1992.
- ↑ "Chugoku Electric to buy into Australian coal mine," "The Japan Times," August 19, 2014.
- ↑ "Announcing Acquisition of 10% Interest in Boggabri Coal Mine," "Nippon Steel website," March 23, 2015.
- ↑ "Project Approval: Section 75J of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979," "NSW Government: Department of Planning and Infrastructure," July 18, 2012.
- ↑ "Boggabri Coal Mine - Project Approval Modification Environmental Assessment (MOD 4)," "Idemitsu Australia," December 16, 2014.
- ↑ "Boggabri Coal: Operational Information and Monitoring," "Idemitsu website," accessed May 2020.
- ↑ Idemitsu Integrated Report 2022, Idemitsu website, 13 March 2023.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Boggabri Coal Mine - Project Approval Modification Environmental Assessment (MOD 5)," "Idemitsu Australia," November 20, 2015.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Boggabri Modification 8 Community Newsletter No.3, Idemitsu Australia, August 2022.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Boggabri Coal Modification 8 Project", Idemitsu Australia website, accessed March 2023.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Boggabri Coal Mine Project Application Number: 09_0182," "Maules Creek Community Council Inc," February 7, 2011.
- ↑ "HANSEN BAILEY, CONTINUATION OF BOGGABRI COAL MINE: ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT," "BOGGABRI COAL PTY LIMITED," December 2010.
- ↑ "ACTIVISTS SCALE COAL-CRUSHING PLANT AT BOGGABRI COAL MINE," "Front Line Action on Coal," September 3, 2012.
- ↑ "84-year old locks himself to mine gate in anti-coal protest," "Green Left," September 3, 2012.
- ↑ "Submissions: Mod 5 - Borefield & Coal Processing," NSW Government, accessed May 2020.
- ↑ "Jim Picton," NSW Government, accessed May 2020.
