JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Defying the current downturn in the global coal sector, ASX-listed junior coal miner Stanmore Coal became Australia’s newest coking coal producer on Wednesday, after Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk officiated the reopening of the Isaac Plains mine, in the Bowen basin.
Stanmore restarted operations and produced first coal in April this year, after taking formal ownership of the mothballed mine for $1 in November last year. The new mine would create more than 150 direct jobs.
Isaac Plains mine would produce 1.1-million tonnes a year of coking coal for export to Asian steel mills. It would also generate yearly royalties of more than $7-million for the state government and, with expansion plans, royalty payments from the mine were expected to grow in the coming years.
As part of its acquisition of Isaac Plains, Stanmore also took ownership of more than $350-million of operating assets, including a dragline, a coal handling plant, and train loading facilities that would support both the Isaac Plains mine and the company’s neighbouring Isaac Plains East deposit.
Isaac Plains' life-of-mine was recently extended from three to more than ten years, with upgrades made to Isaac Plains’ and Isaac Plains East’s Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant coal resources of 76.9-million tones and reserves of 15.7-million tons.
“We have gone against the tide in the coal sector to create value for our investors and the central Queensland community. We believe we’ve picked the right point in the cycle to shift from explorer to exporter, with operating costs reduced by 35%,” said Stanmore MD Nick Jorss, adding that Stanmore’s board had more than 200 years of combined coal industry experience and that the company had the capital and the long-term confidence in the sector to seize the opportunity.
“We are proud to be the newest producer in one of the world’s premier coal basins, and only six months after completing the acquisition of Isaac Plains, we are shipping our first exports to some of the leading steel mills in Asia,” said Jorss.
Isaac Plains was located outside Moranbah, in Queensland’s Isaac Region. Its coal production would be transported on the Goonyella rail line about 173 km to Dalrymple Bay coal terminal for export.
Stanmore acquired the Isaac Plains East deposit from coal producer Peabody Energy in July, 2015, and the Isaac Plains mine and associated operating assets from Brazil major Vale and Canadian metals miner Sumitomo in August, 2015.