Goonyella-Riverside Coal Mine
| This article is part of the Global Coal Mine Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor. |
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Goonyella-Riverside Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Moranbah, Queensland, Australia.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Goonyella-Riverside Coal Mine | Moranbah, Queensland, Australia | -21.792321, 147.962045 (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[1] | – | 1982[2] | 2027 (planned)[3] |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 16.7[4] | 2025[4] | Underground & Surface[4] | Mixed[4] | 220.0[5] | 60.0* | 591.0[6] |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 448.0[7] | 2024[7] | 798.0 | Bowen | Bituminous | Met | Terminal (Export) |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance 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[4] | 20.51[4] | 21.36[4] | 22.73[4] | 23.18[4] | 25.5[4] | 22.15[4] | 22.2[4] | – | 16.7[4] |
Reported Methane Emissions Data
Global Energy Monitor collates facility-scale methane emissions data reported by government and company sources collected in a systematic fashion. This mine is associated with the following methane emissions reports:
Table 7: Methane emissions
| Reported Coal Mine Methane Emissions (thousand tonnes CO2 equivalent) | Reported Coal Mine Methane Emissions (thousand tonnes CH4) | Year of Reported Coal Mine Methane Emissions | Reported Coal Mine Methane Emissions (thousand tonnes) Reference | Reference type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31.09 | 2580.429 | 2024-25 | [8] | national government data |
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
The Goonyella Riverside mine is an open cut coal mine, operated by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), near Moranbah in the Bowen Basin in Queensland, Australia.[9]
The mine had a record production year in 2021.[10] 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, Blackwater mine, the Gregory Crinum mine as well as the Hay Point Coal Terminal.
In 2015 BHP Mitsubishi Alliance was given permission for an extension to the Goonyella Riverside mine as part of the Red Hill coal project. Thi could mean that the Goonyella Riverside mine produces 18.5mtpa. Extracting a total of 32.5mtpa between the new Red Hill mine and the extended Goonyella Riverside mine.[11]
- Sponsor:
- Parent Company: BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA)[12]
- Location: Moranbah in the Bowen Basin in Queensland, Australia
- GPS Coordinates: -21.754015,147.973251 (exact)
- Status: Operating
- Capacity: 17.1 Mt/year[12]
- Production: 18.8 Mt/year[10]
- Total Resource:
- Minable Reserves: 818 Mt [13]
- Coal type: Bituminous (coking coal)[14]
- Mine Size:
- Mine Type: Surface, opencast[12]
- Mining Method:
- Workforce Size: 591[15]
- Start Year:1989[12]
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M0043.B1 | mine boundary | surface | Goonyella-Riverside total mining boundary | extracted | 2023-04-18 00:00:00 |
| M0043.P1 | other | preparation plant | Coal handling and preparation plant | extracted | 2023-04-18 00:00:00 |
Table SMP2: Coal mine boundaries and methane sources data (continued)
| ID | Notes |
|---|---|
| M0043.B1 | The Goonyella-Riverside Coal Mine is part of a BHP Coal Pty Ltd mining complex which also includes the underground Broadmeadow Mine. The boundary is specific to the open-cut surface mine, Goonyella-Riverside. The ventilation and degasification infrastructure found within the mine boundary are assumed to belong to the underground mining operations at the Broadmeadow Mine (M0016). The mine's individual mining lease boundaries were downloaded from the Queensland Spatial Catalogue, https://web.archive.org/web/20250703175324/https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/queensland-mining-and-exploration-tenure-series/resource/5041f29f-7001-467c-803f-963c59da76c1, last updated in 2024. The relevant lease boundary numbers were confirmed in a 2017 Environmental Authority Permit document, https://web.archive.org/save/https://storagesolutiondocsprod.blob.core.windows.net/register-documents-ea/EPML00853413_20240226.pdf, and the associated boundary polygons were identified from the Queensland Spatial Catalogue data. The lease boundaries were merged into a single total boundary polygon in QGIS. The resultant polygon was simplified in Google Earth Pro to remove narrow roadway spaces within the greater boundary. The area of the polygon is approximately 174 square km. The boundary polygon overlaps with the mining boundary of the underground Broadmeadow Mine, which is also owned by BHP Coal Pty Ltd and operated under the same Environmental Authority (EPML00853413) permit as the Goonyella-Riverside Coal Mine. |
| M0043.P1 | The location of the coal handling and preparation plant was first identified in an environmental impact statement (EIS) of a proposed expansion to the Goonyella Riverside and Broadmeadow (GRB) mine complex, https://web.archive.org/save/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_section03projectdescription.pdf. The location of the actual CHPP was then identified and extracted from Google Earth Pro. |
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
- ↑ "24" (PDF). bhp.com. 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-01-25. Retrieved 2023.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help) - ↑ https://www.bhp.com/what-we-do/global-locations/australia/queensland/goonyella-riverside.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://bumainternational.com/post/860/buma-australia-secures-contract-extension-at-the-goonyella-riverside-mine.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/coal-industry-review-statistical-tables/resource/bab54159-f38b-4e6f-8652-4b04bca29139.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/management/environmental/eis-process/projects/withdrawn-lapsed/goonyella-riverside-mine-expansion-project#:~:text=The%20operational%20mining%20leases%20cover%20an%20area%2022km%20long%20and%2010km%20wide.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://www.bhp.com/-/media/bhp/documents/investors/reports/2002/gyrvanalystpresentationjune02.pdf?la=en.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 (PDF) https://www.bhp.com/-/media/documents/investors/annual-reports/2024/240827_bhpannualreport2024.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://cer.gov.au/document/baselines-and-emissions-table-2024-25-0.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ BHP Billiton, "About BMA", BHP Billiton website, accessed June 2010.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 BHP Annual Report, 2021
- ↑ BMA, "Red Hill Mining Lease EIS │Executive Summary",Red Hill Mining Lease Environmental Impact Statement, Executive Summary, Page 1, 2 July 2019.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 NS Energy BusinessGoonyella Riversiade Coal Mine, accessed June 19, 2020
- ↑ Form 20F SEC, accessed November 2020
- ↑ BHP Investor Reports, June 2002.
- ↑ BHP, Investor Presentation, June 2.
