Cullenswood Coal Mine

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Cullenswood Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Fingal, Tasmania, Australia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Cullenswood Coal Mine Fingal, Tasmania, Australia -41.6125381, 148.1254475 (exact)

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

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status Status Detail Opening Year Closing Year
Operating 2002

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
0 Surface Open Pit 60* 183[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
0.82 Bituminous Thermal

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner Parent Company Headquarters
Cornwall Coal Company Cement Australia [100.0%] Australia


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[2] Pre-Permit[3] Extension[3] 0[3]

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

Cullenswood Coal Mine is a small, open-cut mine owned by Cornwall Coal Company, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cement Australia, in north-east Tasmania, Australia.[4] The Cullenswood coal mine began operating in 2002. Cornwall Coal Company owns two other mines in Fingal: Blackwood mine and Huntsman mine. All three coal mines send their product to be processed at Duncan Washery before it is passed along to Tasmanian industries, such as Cement Australia at Railton and Norske Skog at New Norfolk. All of the coal from Cornwall Coal’s mines stay on the island of Tasmania. Cornwall Coal as a whole produces about 500,000 tonnes of ROM coal per year.[5]

Cullenswood mine began as one open cut pit. But by 2010, only about 30,000 tonnes of coal remained at Cullenswood No 1, so Cornwall Coal proposed an addition of Cullenswood No. 2, a new open cut mine near the original. An Environmental Effects report for the proposed expansion wrote that the “planned level of production is likely to be 150,000 tonnes per annum over the life of the deposit, which is expected to be 5-10 years depending on actual production rates.”[6]

Along with that proposal, a study was conducted by Palaris Mining to determine the coal deposits in the newly proposed mine area. They estimated one coal seam within the lease held about 519,000 tonnes of coal and another held about 154,000 tonnes, for a total of about 673,000 tonnes of coal.[7]

Cullenswood No. 2 was approved, but it is unclear exactly when this occurred.[8]

Cornwall then proposed another open pit in 2015, Cullenswood No. 5, which would allow for extraction of 50,000 tonnes of coal per year.[9] The resource at the site is estimated to be approximately 150,000 tonnes, which would allow for a 3 year operation.[10] Though it is unclear when this was approved, it appears by looking at a satellite map that the operation was approved, as coal mine operations are clearly taking place here.

  • Operator: Cornwall Coal Company[4]
  • Owner: Cement Australia[4]
  • Location: Between Fingal and St Marys in north-east Tasmania[6]
  • GPS Coordinates: -41.6125381,148.1254475 (exact)
  • Status: Operating[11]
  • Production Capacity: 50,000 tonnes per year[9]
  • Total Resource:
  • Mineable Reserves: 673,000 total tonnes from Cullenswood No. 2[7] and 150,000 tonnes in Cullenswood No. 5[10]
  • Coal type: black coal[12]
  • Mine Size:
  • Mine Type: open cut[4]
  • Start Year: 2002[6]
  • Source of Financing:

Extension

As of 2022, Cornwall has proposed yet another open pit--Cullenswood No. 6 to be located at 6870 Esk Main Road, in St Marys, Tasmania, Australia.[13] Similarly to Cullenswood 5, it would extract up to 50,000 tonnes of raw coal per annum over a 26-hectare area.[13]

If approved, this new mine pit will replace the currently active Cullenswood coal pits when they run out of coal in 2023. Cullenswood 6 is estimated to operate until 2026 or 2027.[14]

Project Expansion Details

  • Status: Proposed[13]
  • Capacity: 0.05 Mtpa[13]
  • Mineable Reserves:
  • Start Year: 2023[15]
  • Source of Financing:

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. (PDF) https://epa.tas.gov.au/Documents/The%20Cornwall%20Coal%20Company%20Pty%20Ltd;%20Cullenswood%206;%20St%20Marys%20-%20NOI.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20240718162144/https://www.globalcement.com/news/item/15114-cornwall-coal-to-plans-new-coal-mine-in-tasmania. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20240813055227/https://epbcpublicportal.awe.gov.au/all-referrals/project-referral-summary/?id=23a8e3a9-d65f-ed11-9561-00224814a07b. Archived from the original on 13 August 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "CULLENSWOOD," "MiningLink," accessed June 2020.
  5. "CULLENSWOOD 5, ST MARYS OPEN‐CUT EXTRACTION PIT: ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS REPORT," "Van Diemen Consulting," July 13, 2015.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Jacqui Allan, "CULLENSWOOD No. 2 MINE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS REPORT," "Scientists, Engineers, Managers & Facilitators," January 2010.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "APPENDIX A: CULLENSWOOD NO 2 MINE EVALUATION," "Palaris Mining," July 10, 2009.
  8. "Australia: Business and Investment Opportunities Yearbook. Volume 8: Tasmania Mining and Minerals.," "International Business Publications, USA," 2017.
  9. 9.0 9.1 "The Cornwall Coal Company Pty Ltd, Cullenswood No. 5, Open Cut Extraction Pit, St Marys," "EPA Tasmania," accessed June 2020.
  10. 10.0 10.1 "ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REPORT: Cullenswood 5 Coal Mine," "EPA Tasmania," September 2015.
  11. "Cullenswood coal mine, St Marys, Break O'Day municipality, Tasmania, Australia," "Mindat.org," accessed June 2020.
  12. "CULLENSWOOD," "Minedex: Mine Careers," accessed June 2020.
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 "Cullenswood Mine development of open cut coal pit No. 6", The Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, accessed June 2023.
  14. "Cornwall Coal to plans new coal mine in Tasmania", Global Cement, 5 January 2023.
  15. "About the project Cullenswood Mine development of open cut coal pit No. 6", The Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, accessed June 2023.