Hunter Valley North Coal Mine
| This article is part of the Global Coal Mine Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor. |
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Hunter Valley North Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Lemington, New South Wales, Australia.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Hunter Valley North Coal Mine | Lemington, New South Wales, Australia | -32.4657844, 150.9734981 (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 | – | 1952 | 2026[1] |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12[1] | 8.5[1] | 2024[1] | Surface | Open Pit | – | 60.0* | 760.0[1] |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 395.0[2] | 2023[2] | 4080.0[2] | Hunter | Bituminous | Thermal & Met | Terminal (Export) |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Hunter Valley Operations | Yancoal Australia Ltd [51.0%]; Glencore PLC [49.0%] | China, Switzerland |
Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)
| ROM or Saleable | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROM | 6.04[3] | 5.4[3] | 8.4[4] | 6.6[4] | 4.54[5] | 4.38[5] | 6.66[6] | 8.5[1] | – |
Expansion/Extension
Table 7: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Project Type | Project Phase | Added Capacity (Mtpa)* | Start Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposed[7] | Pre-Permit[7] | Extension | – | – | – |
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 Hunter Valley North coal mine is a surface mine located in Lemington, New South Wales, Australia. Alongside Hunter Valley South coal mine, it comprises the Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) — a joint venture between Yancoal Australia (51%) and Glencore (49%).[8] According to Yancoal's website: Production commenced at Hunter Valley Operations in 1949 at the current West Pit, which is now a part of Hunter Valley North. The Hunter Valley No. 1 mine began production in 1979. In 2000, Coal & Allied merged the West Pit and Hunter Valley mine to create Hunter Valley Operations. The Lemington mine, which began production in 1971, was acquired and merged into HVO in 2001.[9]
The website continues: "In March 2009, Coal & Allied received approval from the NSW Government to replace the multiple approvals under which HVO South operated with a single Project Approval valid for 21 years to 2030. The approval included extraction of a further 84 million tonnes of coal and upgrades to a range of infrastructure at the mine."[9]
Yancoal Australia acquired HVO on 1 September 2017.[9]
Approvals for the Hunter Valley Operations allow for the extraction of up to 22 million ROM tonnes from operations north of the Hunter River. (Up to 20 million ROM tonnes of coal can be extracted from operations south of the Hunter River, that is, from Hunter Valley South coal mine.)[10]
Hunter Valley North Continuation Project
Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) consists of two mine sites separated by the Hunter River: Hunter Valley North coal mine and Hunter Valley South coal mine. While the two mine sites are approved under separate development consents, they are operated as one site, known as the HVO Complex.[11]
The HVO is a Joint Venture between Yancoal Australia Ltd and Glencore.[11]
The HVO Continuation Project aims to recover further coal resources within the existing mining tenements at HVO, extending the life of mine from 2025 to 2050 at HVO North and from 2030 to 2045 at HVO South.[12]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M0049.B1 | mine boundary | surface | Hunter Valley North coal mine boundary | extracted | 2024-03-28 00:00:00 |
| M0049.P1 | other | preparation plant | coal preparation plant | extracted | 2024-10-09 00:00:00 |
Table SMP2: Coal mine boundaries and methane sources data (continued)
| ID | Notes |
|---|---|
| M0049.B1 | Page 12 of the 2022 Independent Environmental Audit Hunter Valley Operations, https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.hvo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Hunter-Valley-Operations-Independent-Environmental-Audit-2022-and-Response-to-Recommendations.pdf, describes Hunter Valley North and Hunter Valley South 'development consents': DA 450-10-2003 that covers HVO North and PA 06_0261 that cover HVO South. Page 17 contains a diagram of the boundaries for the consents. Section '2.2 Background' on page 20 of 2023 Annual Environmental Review published 3/2024, https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.hvo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/HVO-Annual-Review-2023.pdf, refers to HVO North and HVO South by the above consents. Page 22 contains a diagram 'Hunter Valley Operations Site Overview' which includes the environmental protection license EPL 640 area of the mines within the consents. The boundary is the boundary of EPL 640 within consent DA 450-10-2003. The area of the boundary is approximately 60 sq km. |
| M0049.P1 | Identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery. |
Associated Coal Mine Methane Mitigation Projects
Some coal mines have installed infrastructure which can use and/or destroy some methane emissions associated with mining. In 2024, the Global Methane Initiative reported that this mine had a mitigation project associated with it. This methodology page describes how GEM classified these projects and linked them with coal mines in the Global Coal Mine Tracker.
Table MM1: Methane mitigation projects
| Mitigation Project Name | Project Type | GMI Reported Status | GMI Reported Start Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lidell Gas Pipeline Project - Australia | utilization | Shut down | – |
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 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/researchpapers/Documents/Coal-mining-in-NSW-key-statistics.xlsx.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 (PDF) https://www.glencore.com/.rest/api/v1/documents/static/a53e27b1-6025-4ef2-9be8-f3be543dfb26/GLENCORE-Resources-and-Reserves-report-2023.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 (PDF) https://www.hvo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/documents/Hunter%20Valley%20Operations/Annual%20Environmental%20Review/2018/HVO%20Annual%20Environmental%20Review%202018.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 (PDF) https://www.hvo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/documents/Hunter%20Valley%20Operations/Annual%20Environmental%20Review/2020/HVO%20Annual%20Review%202020%20Final_with%20appendices%20compressed.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 (PDF) https://www.hvo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/HVO-2022-Annual-Review_Combined-Reduced-1.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://www.hvo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/HVO-Annual-Review-2023.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/australias-environment-law-reforms-deliver-more-protection-pollution/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Hunter Valley Operations", Glencore Australia website, accessed April 2023.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "HUNTER VALLEY OPERATIONS," "Yancoal website," accessed June 2020.
- ↑ Hunter Valley Operations Annual Environmental Review 2021, Insite Hunter Valley Operations, accessed April 2023.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Hunter Valley Operations Continuation Project", EMM Consulting website, accessed April 2023.
- ↑ "Hunter Valley Operations", Glencore Australia website, accessed April 2023.
