Broadmeadow Coal Mine

This article is part of the Global Coal Mine Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

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Broadmeadow Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Moranbah, Queensland, Australia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Broadmeadow Coal Mine	Moranbah, Queensland, Australia	-21.8223589, 147.9774 (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	–	2005	–

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
–	5.786	2024	Underground	Longwall	–	500.0*	1062.0*

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
165.0	–	1010.0	Bowen	Bituminous	Met	–

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Note: To access more comprehensive data on energy ownership, please visit the Global Energy Ownership Tracker.

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
BM Alliance Coal Operations Pty Ltd	BHP Group Ltd [50.0%]; Mitsubishi Corp [50.0%]	Australia

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
ROM	5.54	5.14	5.27	6.54	6.84	8.39	7.06	5.79	–

Note: The above sections were automatically generated and are based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker May 2026 release.

Ownership Tree

This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Background

Broadmeadow coal mine is an underground coal mine which can produce up to 4.8 million tons of coking coal per year, in Queensland, Australia. The mine is located 34km north of Moranbah and neighbors the nearby Goonyella Riverside coal mine, which has the same owner as Broadmeadow.

The mine is owned and operated by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), a 50:50 joint venture between BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi Development. BMA also operates the Peak Downs mine, Saraji mine, Norwich Park mine, Goonyella Riverside mine, Blackwater mine, and the Gregory Crinum mine, as well as the Hay Point Coal Terminal.

Operations began at Broadmeadow mine in 2005 under the ownership of BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, meaning the mine has had the same owner for its entire lifetime. The neighboring Goonyella Riverside mine has two coal processing plants where mined coal is sorted and washed, which Broadmeadow mine uses for its own coal. After being processed, the coal from both mines is transported by rail to the BMA-owned Hay Point Terminal.

Broadmeadow has undergone several changes, especially with regards to the extraction method used at the mine. Historically, Broadmeadow was mined using conventional longwall mining practices, but the mine began using the longwall top coal caving technique in 2012. This mining method is defined as “a special type of longwall mining applicable to very thick seams where good quality coal is being left because ‘conventional’ longwall equipment has not yet been designed to operate successfully beyond around 5m mining height.” Implementing this method at Broadmeadow increased productivity and offers safety advantages.

The introduction of the longwall top coal caving method, alongside an expansion of the Broadmeadow mine eastwards, increased the productive capacity at the mine from 0.4 mpta to a new total capacity of 4.8Mtpa and extended the life of the mine by 21 years. This expansion began producing coal in 2013 as part of the Goonyella Riverside Mine Expansion. The Goonyella Riverside Mine Expansion is one of the four components of the Bowen Basin Coal Growth Project.

In 2015, the Federal Government granted federal approval to what is known as the Red Hill coal project, a BMA-proposed new mine and extension of the Broadmeadow mine and Goonyella Riverside mine. In addition to increasing annual coal production out of the new mine and Goonyella Riverside by 32.5 mtpa, the project proposed an extension of three longwall panels to the Broadmeadow mine. This extension would add one year of life to the Broadmeadow mine.

• Operator: B.M Alliance Coal Operations Pty Ltd
• Owner: BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, which is owned by BHP Billiton Ltd (50%) and Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd. (50%)
• Location: Located 34km north of Moranbah in the coalfields of Central Queensland.
• GPS Coordinates: -21.8025693,147.9819727
• Status: Operating
• Production Capacity: 5.2 mtpa
• Total Resource: 1010 Mt (Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource, 2020)
• Mineable Reserves: 165 Mt(Proven and Probable Reserve, 2019)
• Coal Type: metallurgical: high quality coking coal
• Mine Size:
• Mine Type: underground punch longwall mine
• Start Year: 2005
• Source of Financing:

Coal Mine Boundaries and Methane Sources

Global Energy Monitor researchers have identified coal mine boundary/boundaries and potential sources of coal mine methane (CMM) for this mine. These research results can be used to drive CMM attribution and mitigation efforts, particularly when combined with remotely sensed methane plume locations and mine ownership data. Explore the results with the embedded map at the top of this page by clicking on the mine boundary polygon or the CMM placemarkers to reveal more details. A detailed description of this research can be found in Coal Mine Boundaries and Methane Sources. This data is also available as a downloadable companion dataset to the Global Coal Mine Tracker and the Global Methane Emitters Tracker.

Table SMP1: Coal mine boundaries and methane sources data

ID	Mine feature category	Mine feature subcategory	Description	Coordinates precision	Data source date
M0016.B1	mine boundary	underground	The Broadmeadow Coal mine boundary	extracted	2011
M0016.P1	other	slope access or production shaft	coal mine slope or production shaft	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P2	other	mine entrance or exit	entrance or exit gate	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P3	other	mine entrance or exit	entrance or exit gate	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P4	other	mine entrance or exit	entrance or exit gate	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P5	other	mine entrance or exit	entrance or exit gate	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P6	other	mine entrance or exit	entrance or exit gate	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P7	degasification system	flare	flare	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P8	degasification system	flare	flare	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P9	degasification system	drainage station	gas drainage infrastructure - possibly flaring station	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P10	degasification system	drainage station	gas drainage station	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P11	degasification system	drainage station	possible gas drainage infrastructure	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P12	degasification system	gas well	gas well	extracted	2023-04-01 00:00:00
M0016.P13	degasification system	gas well	gas well	extracted	2023-04-01 00:00:00
M0016.P14	degasification system	gas well	gas well	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P15	degasification system	gas well	gas well	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P16	degasification system	gas well	gas well	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P17	degasification system	gas well	gas well	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P18	degasification system	gas well	gas well	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P19	degasification system	gas well	gas well	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P20	degasification system	gas well	gas well	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P21	degasification system	drainage station	possible gas drainage infrastructure	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P22	degasification system	drainage station	possible gas drainage infrastructure	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P23	degasification system	drainage station	possible gas drainage infrastructure	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P24	degasification system	gas to electric station	possible gas to electric generation	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P25	ventilation system	shaft	possible ventilation shaft	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P26	ventilation system	shaft	ventilation shaft and possible mine entrance	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P27	ventilation system	shaft	ventilation shaft	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P28	ventilation system	shaft	ventilation shaft	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P29	ventilation system	shaft	ventilation shaft	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P30	degasification system	drainage station	possible gas drainage infrastructure	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00
M0016.P31	degasification system	drainage station	possible gas drainage infrastructure	extracted	2023-08-01 00:00:00

Table SMP2: Coal mine boundaries and methane sources data (continued)

Coal mine boundaries and methane sources were last researched for this mine on Sep 17, 2025

ID	Notes
M0016.B1	From the Background section on page 2 of the Goonyella Riverside and Broadmeadow Mines Application for amendment of environmental authority (publish date not given), https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.bhp.com/-/media/bhp/regulatory-information-media/coal/bhp-billiton-mitsubishi-alliance/goonyella-riverside/major-environmental-authority-amendment-application/160331_coal_bma_goonyellabroadmeadow_applicationsupportinginformation.pdf, "Goonyella Riverside Mine is an open cut operation producing hard coking coal. The underground, punch longwall mine, Broadmeadow, has been developed in an existing highwall of the open cut operation.". The underground mining boundary overlaps with the surface mining operations of the Goonyella-Riverside Coal Mine, which is also owned by BHP Coal Pty Ltd and operates under the same Environmental Authority (EPML00853413) permit as the underground Broadmeadow Coal Mine. The underground mining boundary is the perimeter of the Broadmeadow Underground Mine area shown in Figure 1-2 PROJECT SITE of ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT Redhill Mining Lease, https://web.archive.org/web/20221208033144/https://www.bhp.com/-/media/bhp/regulatory-information-media/coal/bhp-billiton-mitsubishi-alliance/red-hill/red-hill-mining-lease-project-draft-environmental-impact-statement-eis/131213_coal_bma_redhill_section01introduction.pdf (publish date not given). The date of the mining area is assumed to be from 2011 as footnoted under this diagram 'images from Client 2011'. The area of the boundary is 32.3 sq km.
M0016.P1	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P2	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P3	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P4	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P5	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P6	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P7	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P8	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P9	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P10	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P11	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P12	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P13	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P14	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P15	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P16	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P17	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P18	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P19	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P20	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P21	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P22	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P23	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P24	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P25	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P26	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P27	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P28	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P29	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P30	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.
M0016.P31	Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery.

Methane Plumes Detected Nearby

Global Energy Monitor researchers analyze satellite-detected methane plumes in order to determine whether they have been observed at or near the site of GEM energy assets. The satellite data provider creates imagery of individual methane plumes and estimates their emission rates at the time of observation. GEM has reviewed many of these plume detections against Google Earth imagery and GEM’s own energy infrastructure tracker data. The following table lists methane plumes which are associated with the energy asset or facility based on distance and manual review. (A full description of the analysis process is available in the Global Methane Emitters Tracker methodology wiki page.)

Table M1: Plume details

For additional details on this individual plume identification and others, see the Global Methane Emitters Tracker.

Observation date	Satellite data provider	Location of plume origin	Methane emissions rate	Additional plume information
2024-07-21T00:54:10+00	CarbonMapper, 8ca590cd-3c81-454e-a94b-af703f99a118	-21.8254, 148.0161	432.0 kg/hr	Queensland State Methane Observation 2024-07-21, 2

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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.