The Bloomfield Group’s Rix’s Creek Mine has announced an expansion project to boost extraction rate. The mine is located 5 km northwest of Singleton, in the Upper Hunter region.
The Bloomfield Group is hoping to spend $856,307,086 to extend the life of the mine from its original end date in 2019 until 2038, allowing it to recover an additional 32 million tonnes of run-of-mine (ROM) coal.
The $856 million Capital Investment Value will include the design and construction of buildings, structures, associated infrastructure and fixed or mobile plant and equipment.
The mine extension proposal is now on public display until 3 December 2015, and The Department of Planning and Environment is seeking community feedback about the project.
According to The Bloomfield Group, the expansion of the mine will allow it to increase the maximum extraction rate from 2.8 million tonnes per annum, to 4.5 mtpa. The coal handling and preparation plant will operate seven days a week to cope with the additional volume.
Under the proposal, the mine’s western boundary will be extended, to construct a new area for waste rock. There will also be engineering work involved to enable the transport of approximately 2.7 million tonnes of coal per year via rail to the Port of Newcastle, and the construction of a second New England highway underpass, plus progressive site rehabilitation based on a detailed Rehabilitation Strategy developed by The Bloomfield Group.
The Bloomfield Group’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) claims the mine extension would generate $1072.2 million of incremental benefits over the life of the project, and provide employment for 375 people at the mine and within its supply chain.
The open cut Rix’s Creek Mine has been in operation since 1990. It produces thermal and semisoft coking coal for export, with small quantities for domestic consumption.
The mine uses a multi-seam bench system, which mines up to nine seams and splits, using a range of heavy earthmoving equipment for overburden removal and coal movement. The coal is processed onsite by a coal handling and processing plant, before being transported by trucks to the rail loader, where it is moved to Port Waratah Coal Services’ shipping terminals in Newcastle.
The Mine currently employs 130 personnel across its operations, including in the mining, administration and maintenance areas.