Mount Arthur Coal Mine

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Mount Arthur Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Mount Arthur Coal Mine Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia -32.337022, 150.856144 (exact)

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

Loading map...

Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status Status Detail Opening Year Closing Year
Operating[1] 2002[1] 2030 (planned)[1]

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
32[2] 19.82[2] 2022[2] Surface Open Pit 64 60* 498*

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
126[1] 2023[1] 136[1] Syndey Bituminous Thermal[1] Bayswater power station

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner Parent Company Headquarters
Hunter Valley Energy Coal BHP Group Ltd [100.0%] Australia

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

ROM or Saleable 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
ROM 23[3] 23[3] 25[4] 21[4] 19[2] 19[2] 20[2]

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

Mount Arthur coal mine is a surface mine near the town of Muswellbrook in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. On its website the company states that the mine produces up to 20 million tonnes per annum for domestic and export power generation.[5] A 2009 document from the company states that the mine can produce up to 28 million tonnes per annum. A 2009 environmental assessment states that "export coal is loaded onto trains via the Bayswater Rail Loading Facility whilst domestic coal is transported via conveyor directly to Macquarie Generation's Bayswater power station".[6]

Protest

Greenpeace protest against Mt Arthur Coal

In June 2011 a Greenpeace activist locked himself in a box fixed to a railway line used by the Mt Arthur coal mine in a protest calling on BHP Billiton to pay a price on carbon.[7] Four protesters were arrested by New South Wales Police.[8]

BHP Billiton sale

In June 2020 BHP Billiton was reported to have initiated the sale of the Mount Arthur mine by appointing JPMorgan Chase and Australian bank Macquarie as advisors. Reuters reported banking sources suggesting that the sale could take place by the end of 2020, with Australia’s Whitehaven Coal Ltd, China’s Yancoal and India’s Adani Enterprises thought to be potential buyers.[9]

  • Sponsor:
  • Parent Company: BHP Billiton
  • Location: Muswellbrook in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia.
  • GPS Coordinates: -32.346525,150.8951 (exact)
  • Status: Operating
  • Production Capacity: 17 Mt/year[10]
  • Total Resource: 213 million tonnes
  • Minable Reserves:
  • Coal type: Met
  • Mine Size:
  • Mine Type: surface
  • Mining Method: opencut
  • Start Year:1968
  • 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. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240208194549/https://www.bhp.com/-/media/documents/investors/annual-reports/2023/230822_bhpannualreport2023.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 08 February 2024. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240208194018/https://www.bhp.com/-/media/bhp/regulatory-information-media/coal/nswec/mt-arthur-coal/annual-reviews/mt-arthur-coal-annual-review-fy22_optimized.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 08 February 2024. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 3.0 3.1 (PDF) https://www.bhp.com/-/media/bhp/regulatory-information-media/coal/nswec/mt-arthur-coal/annual-environmental-management-reviews/mt-arthur-coal-annual-review-fy18.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. 4.0 4.1 (PDF) https://minedocs.com/23/Mt_Arthur_Coal_Mine-ARew-2020.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. BHP Billiton, "Mt Arthur Coal", BHP Billiton website, accessed June 2010.
  6. Hunter Valley Energy Coal, "Mt Arthur Coal Preliminary Environmental Assessment", March 18, 2009, page 11.
  7. "Coal train stopped in tracks", Media Release, June 8, 2011.
  8. "Coal protesters detained by NSW Police", Sydney Morning Herald, June 8, 2011.
  9. Clara Denina, Melanie Burton, "BHP puts Australian thermal coal mine up for sale: sources,", Reuters, Jun. 23, 2020.
  10. NS Energy Business, Goonyella Riversiade Coal Mine, accessed June 19, 2020