Moranbah South Coal Project

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Moranbah South Coal Project is a shelved coal mine in Moranbah, Queensland, Australia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Moranbah South Coal Project	Moranbah, Queensland, Australia	-22.072567, 148.096529 (approximate)

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

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Project Type	Opening Year	Closing Year
Shelved	Exploration	New	–	–

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
18	–	–	Underground	Longwall	–	500*	*

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
–	–	740.4	Bowen	Bituminous	Met	North Queensland Export Terminal

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Moranbah South	Anglo American PLC [50.0%]; Exxaro Resources Ltd [50.0%]	UK, Australia

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 Moranbah South coal project is a proposed underground coking coal mine and a 50/50 joint venture between Anglo American and Exxaro Resources, near Moranbah in the Bowen Basin in Queensland, Australia.

Although the project was removed from Anglo American's list of expansion options in December 2020, as of 2022, the project is being reconsidered. On 24 May 2012, the project was declared a controlled action under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), including that it be assessed by the EP Act EIS process under the bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of Queensland relating to environmental impact assessment. Approval came from the Australian Federal Government in November 2014.

In 2017, Exxaro began the process of selling its 50% interest in Moranbah South, likely because of the company's commitment to restructuring its portfolio at the time. However, the project was back on Exxaro’s radar in 2018 after failing to sell its stake. The CFO of Exxaro, , expressed uncertainty about the proposed joint venture project, and says, “In respect of the Moranbah South coking coal project, Exxaro together with Anglo American, are still in the process of reassessing the potential development plan."

Exxaro together with Anglo American, are still in the process of reassessing the potential development plan.

If the mine goes ahead, it could run for 30 years. Coal would travel by rail to Abbot Point Coal Terminal for export. Transporting the coal would require the construction of a new on-site rail-loading facility and rail loop.

• Operator: Anglo Coal (50%) and Exxaro Australia (50%)
• Owners: Anglo American (50%) and Exxaro Resources (50%)
• Location: 3 kilometers south-east of Moranbah, Queensland, Australia
• GPS Coordinates: -22.072567, 148.096529 (approximate)
• Status: Proposed
• Production Capacity: 18 mtpa
• Total Resource: 704.4 million tonnes (2022)
• Mineable Reserves:
• Coal Type: Hard coking coal (Metallurgical)
• Mine Size: 17,550 hectares
• Mine Type: Underground longwall mining and bord and pillar mining
• Start Year:
• Source of Financing:

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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.