Cameby Downs Coal Mine

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

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Cameby Downs Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Dalby, Queensland, Australia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Cameby Downs Coal Mine	Dalby, Queensland, Australia	-26.6181915, 150.3548193 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

Loading map...

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Opening Year	Closing Year
Operating	–	2010	–

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
3.5	2.86	2022	Surface	Open Pit	–	60*	180

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
85	2022	–	–	Bituminous	Thermal	–

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Syntech Resources	Shandong Energy	China

Expansion/Extension

Table 6: Project status

* Added capacity of a coal mine refers to the enhancement in the mine's production capabilities beyond its initial production capacity.

Status	Status Detail	Project Type	Project Phase	Added Capacity (Mtpa)*	Start Year
Proposed	Permitted	Expansion	–	3	–

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the GEM April 2024 Global Coal Mine Tracker dataset.

Background

Cameby Downs is an open cut coal mine in Queensland owned ultimately by Yanzhou Coal Mining Company, and operated by Syntech Resources, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yancoal Australia.

The project is located 100 km north-east of Dalby and approximately 360 km northwest of Brisbane in Southeast Queensland in the Surat Basin in Queensland. Mining began at Cameby Downs coal mine in 2010. In addition to an open cut mine, the complex has a coal handling preparation plant with an annual capacity of approximately 220 tonnes per hour. After the coal is processed, it is transported to Brisbane Port using rail.

Syntech Resources was a previous owner of the mine, but was acquired by Yangzhou in 2011. It has since become a wholly owned subsidiary of Yanzhou.

Since at least 2012, the mine’s owners and operators had planned to operate Cameby Downs under two stages: Phase I and Phase II.

The Phase I stage of the company’s plan would allow for production of about 1.8 million tonnes of coal per year. This phase occurred right when mining commenced. Phase II of the project would increase production over time to about 16 million tonnes of coal per year, which could occur largely via obtaining ‘port allocation’.

During Phase I, the mine’s life was estimated to be approximately 45 years.

• Sponsor: Yancoal Australia
• Parent Company: Yanzhou Coal Mining Company
• Location: Located 100 km north-east of Dalby and approximately 360 km northwest of Brisbane in Southeast Queensland in the Surat Basin in Queensland.
• GPS Coordinates: -26.6181915, 150.3548193
• Status: operating
• Production Capacity:2.4 mtpa (2016)
• Total Resource:
• Mineable Reserves: 305.9 million tonnes (Proved and Probable, 2015)
• Coal type: low ash thermal coal
• Mine Size: 27.2 square kilometers
• Mine Type: open cut
• Start Year: 2010
• Source of Financing:

Phase II: Expansion

Yancoal and Yangzhou began attempting to increase their annual production capacity as early as 2009. In 2009, Syntech Resources proposed increasing the production capacity from 1.8 million tonnes of coal per year to 25 million tonnes of coal per year.

After Yancoal acquired Cameby Downs, they revised the plan and suggested increasing annual production to 14 million tonnes of coal per year.

In 2016, Syntech Resources proposed increasing the annual mining rate to 3.5 Mtpa and increasing the life of the mine to approximately 75 years. In 2019, the Queensland Government approved this expansion to begin as soon as the company could begin.

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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.