Callide Coal Mine

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Callide Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Biloela, Queensland, Australia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Callide Coal Mine	Biloela, Queensland, Australia	-24.310921, 150.622173 (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	–	1944	–

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
11	7.593	2022	Surface	Open Pit	176	50*	700

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
244	2012	1700	Callide Basin	Subbituminous	Thermal	Callide power station

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Batchfire Resources	Batchfire Resources [100%]	Australia

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

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
ROM	8	9	11	10	8	7	7

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

Background

The Callide coal mine is surface mine, operated by Batchfire Resources Pty Ltd, near Gladstone in Central Queensland, Australia.

The mine produces for the Callide power station. Mining commenced at the Callide mine in 1944. Callide mine is an open cut operation with four distinct ‘pits’ in which mining takes place: Dunn Creek, Trap Gully, The Hut and Boundary Hill mine. Trap Gully and The Hut are the latest additions and were developed 1981 and 1990, respectively, because of an increasing demand for coal and economic considerations.

The primary customer for Callide mine’s coal is the nearby Callide Power Station, which “uses Callide mine’s coal to supply baseload electricity to Australia’s national grid.” The power station generates approximately 18 percent of Queensland’s electricity.

The company AngloAmerican owned Callide mine up until October 2016, when Batchfire bought the entire mine. The mine is currently owned 100% by Batchfire Resources Pty Ltd. At the time of the sale, several environmental groups expressed concern that the relatively new company would not be able to pay for potential environmental rehabilitation obligations, especially after it was revealed that Batchfire, at the time of the purchase, was worth only $750,000.

• Operator: Batchfire Callide Management Pty Ltd
• Owner: Batchfire Resources Pty Ltd
• Location: 120km southwest of Gladstone and 20km northeast of the town of Biloela in Central Queensland
• GPS Coordinates: -24.310921, 150.622173 (exact)
• Status: Operating
• Capacity: 11 mtpa
• Production: 10.8 million tonnes (2019)
• Total Resource: 1.07 billion tonnes
• Mineable Reserves: 194.5 million tonnes
• Coal Type: Sub-bituminous (Thermal)
• Mine Size: 176-180 square kilometers
• Mine Type: Open cut
• Start Year: 1944
• Source of Financing:

Opposition to Expansion

In January 2018, Batchfire’s Boundary Hill mine was granted a mining lease that extended the operation until 2043, which caused some dispute. In a media statement, Dr. Anthony Lynham, the Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, wrote that “the lease provided job security for the current 450 employees at the Callide Mine Complex for another 25 years.” However, Queensland Greens Senator and spokesperson for Mining and Resources, Andrew Bartlett, released a statement that accused the decision of “betray(ing) Queenslanders while serving the interests of the Labor Party's paymasters in the fossil fuel industry,” according to the Observer.

"Coal kills. If we don't invest in renewable, clean energy, parts of Queensland will become unliveable, natural disasters will be far worse and farming will be devastated," Bartlett said, according to The Observer.

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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.