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Ensham Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Emerald, Queensland, Australia.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Ensham Coal Mine | Emerald, Queensland, Australia[1] | -23.454464, 148.497455 (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] | – | 1993[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[2] | 3.91[3] | 2022[3] | Underground & Surface | Mixed | 27.37[2] | 210[4] | 600[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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 724 | – | 1477 | Bowen | Subbituminous | Thermal[1] | Port of Gladstone[1] |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Sungela[5] | Thungela Resources Ltd [75.0%]; Audley Energy Ltd [12.5%]; Mayfair Corporations Group Pty Ltd [12.5%] | Australia, South Korea |
Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)
| ROM or Saleable | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saleable[3] | 4[3] | 5[3] | 5[3] | 5[3] | 4[3] | 3[3] | 2[3] |
Expansion/Extension
Table 6: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Project Type | Project Phase | Added Capacity (Mtpa)* | Start Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposed | Permitted[6][7] | Extension[6] | – | – | – |
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 Ensham mine is an open-cut and underground coal mine located near Emerald, Queensland, Australia.
In February 2023, previous owner Idemitsu Australia, sold its stake in the Ensham coal mine to Sungela Pty Ltd — a consortium of Thungela Resources Limited (75%), Mayfair Corporations Group Pty Ltd (12.5%) and Audley Energy Limited (12.5%).[8] The mine is a joint venture of Sungela and Bowen Investment (Australia), with Sungela holding the majority of shares.[8] Open cut mining began at Ensham in 1993, and in 2011, the operation began underground mining as well. Historically, the mine has produced great quantities of coal per year — as of 2009, the mine had produced over 80 million tonnes of coal. By some estimations, over a billion tonnes in total resource still remain at the Ensham mine.[9] However, an estimate of the mine’s recoverable reserves was not available.
Throughout the mine’s history, annual production has varied between 8 million tonnes of coal per year and 5 million tonnes of coal per year.[10] [11] Before the early 2010s, production was higher, but falling coal prices caused the company to downsize its operations.[9]
In February 2007, an expansion of the existing Ensham open-cut coal mine (aka, the "Ensham Central Project") was approved by the Queensland Government.[12]
According to an ABC News report, mining is scheduled to take place at Ensham mine until 2028. The report also points out that Ensham Mine was one of the first large open-cut mines subject to new legislation that requires miners to rehabilitate land progressively as they mine.[13]
The coal is transported from the stockpiles using large road trains to the coal plant where it is crushed and screened for size and then transported via rail to Gladstone Port for shipping and to Gladstone Power Station for domestic electricity generation.[11]
- Operator: Sungela Pty Ltd.[8]
- Owners: Sungela Pty Ltd (85%), Bowen Investment (Australia) Pty Ltd (15%)[8]
- Location: 40 km north-east of Emerald, Queensland, Australia[11]
- GPS Coordinates: -23.454464, 148.497455 (exact)
- Status: Operating[13]
- Production: 2.91 mtpa (2022)[14]
- Total Resource: 1,477 million tonnes (as of 2003)[15]
- Mineable Reserves: 724 million tonnes[16]
- Coal Type: Thermal coal[11]
- Mine Size:
- Mine Type: Open cut (dragline operation) & underground (bord and pillar operation)[11]
- Start Year: 1993[11]
- Source of Financing:
Extension
In 2021, Ensham proposed to increase the life of its existing underground operations by extending the underground bord and pillar mine into a 2,737 hectare-area located approximately 200 kilometers west of Rockhampton and 35 km east of Emerald.[17] The project, known as the Ensham Life of Mine Extension Project, would extend the life of Ensham Mine's underground operations by up to nine years (that is, to approximately 2037), with underground decommissioning/rehabilitation expected to be completed by 2039.[17]
As of July 2023, the Queensland Government has approved this extension.[18][19]
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://web.archive.org/web/20230705221829/https://www.idemitsu.com.au/mining/operations/ensham-resources/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20230323185949/https://www.idemitsu.com.au/mining/projects/ensham-life-of-mine-extension-project/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 https://web.archive.org/web/20240202181124/https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/coal-industry-review-statistical-tables/resource/bab54159-f38b-4e6f-8652-4b04bca29139. Archived from the original on 02 February 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240309042412/https://www.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/134842/ensham-life-of-mine-extension-project-ias.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 09 March 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/japans-idemitsu-kosan-sell-its-stake-australias-ensham-coal-mine-2023-02-03/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240813055441/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/02/coalmine-approvals-in-australia-this-year-could-add-150m-tonnes-of-co2-to-atmosphere. Archived from the original on 13 August 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240813055633/https://www.australianmining.com.au/queensland-coal-mine-gets-approval/. Archived from the original on 13 August 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Idemitsu Kosan announces the sale of its stake in the Ensham Coal Mine", Idemitsu Australia website, 3 Feb. 2023.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "ENSHAM," "MiningLink," accessed June 2020.
- ↑ "Ensham Central Project : initial advice statement," "Hansen Consulting for Ensham Resources," 2004.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 "Ensham Resources," "Idemitsu website," accessed June 2020.
- ↑ "Copmleted Projects: Ensham Central project", Queensland Government website, accessed March 2023.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Ensham mine risks setting 'serious precedent' for new Qld mining rehab laws: LNP," "ABC News," December 13, 2019.
- ↑ Idemitsu Integrated Report 2022, Idemitsu website, 13 March 2023.
- ↑ "Bowen Basin Data," "Mining Communities Research Exchange," accessed June 2020.
- ↑ Graham Morris, Technical Services Manager, "Ensham Mine�: The Last Five Years and �The Next Five," presentation to Australian Institute of Mine Surveyors, 19 August 2005
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Ensham Life of Mine Extension Project, Idemitsu Australia website, accessed March 2023.
- ↑ "Queensland coal mine gets approval, Australian Mining, 10 July 2023.
- ↑ "Completed projects", Queensland Government website, accessed March 2023.
