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Perhaps all is not gold/coal in Queensland.
Coalminers doing it tough after floods
SUNK: The submerged conveyor belt at Anglo Coal's Dawson Mine at Moura last month was typical of the widespread flooding to hit mines around the state. Picture: Mark Brake Source: The Courier-Mail
QUEENSLAND'S floodwaters may have receded in most places, but drowned mine pits are still hamstringing Queensland's massive coal industry, with only six or seven of the state's more than 50 mines back to near normal production.
The coal seam gas industry is faring better with the three main CSG companies in the Surat Basin - QGC, Arrow Energy and Origin Energy - back to full output or very close to it.
The Queensland Resources Council is sticking by estimates that the coal industry's problems - many of which could continue well into the second quarter of this year or beyond - may cost from $5 billion to $9 billion in lost revenue.
That is for the period from October last year to the end of June this year, though a good deal of that revenue will be deferred, rather than entirely lost, as demand will remain strong once mine production ramps up again.
The State Government has forecast losses of up to 15 million tonnes of production, a figure that the QRC believes is an underestimate.
"We are still of the view that we have lost in the order of 30 million tonnes of production, which is $400 million of royalties over the next few months that the state cannot afford to lose, given the extent of the rebuilding task that is ahead," a QRC spokesman said.
Of the mines still to fully recover from months of wet weather, 44 are said to be operating from 20 to 80 per cent of capacity.
If it was business as usual, Queensland's industry would be producing 51 million tonnes of coal a quarter, a large percentage of it high-value coking coal, which is fetching up to $US233 a tonne under existing contracts.
There are predictions, given the production shortfalls, that contract prices could rise to $US300-$US400 a tonne for the three months from April 1.
But dewatering mining pits is not straightforward. The QRC tried to convince the Government to use emergency powers to allow the industry to bypass normal environmental controls on discharging waste water.
But the Department of Environment and Resource Management is sticking by existing rules.
DERM's rules, under what are called Transitional Environmental Programs, obviously do allow excess water to be discharged - but not haphazardly.
DERM assesses TEPs on a case by case basis. And DERM director general John Bradley told The Courier-Mail yesterday: "Mines must be able to submit robust information on their infrastructure options, the chemical composition of stored water, receiving water flows, potential impacts on downstream users and relevant ecosystems that may be at risk due to the release."
DERM switched extra personnel to TEP application processing late last year and many staff skipped holidays and worked weekends on the process, which is continuing.
But Mr Bradley said some mines didn't have sufficiently robust infrastructure or sufficient environmental expertise to quickly provide the information DERM needed to approve TEP applications.
Miners are improvising in places, however, to meet DERM's requirements, with some "shandying" their waste water - by adding clean water to their polluted waste to make it more environmentally acceptable.
Some mines are also able to pump water pit to pit, to expose coal for mining, while those near now slow-flowing or all but dry watercourses are praying for rain - to provide enough flow to dilute mine discharge to a sufficient level to make sure it doesn't affect users and ecosystems downstream.
Exports from Dalrymple Bay and Hay Point were 5.54 million tonnes in January and 6.46 million in December, compared with 8.37 million in January 2010. Abbot Point exported 1.28 million tonnes in January, down 400,000 from December.
- Tony Grant-Taylor
- From: The Courier-Mail
- February 15, 2011 12:00AM
SUNK: The submerged conveyor belt at Anglo Coal's Dawson Mine at Moura last month was typical of the widespread flooding to hit mines around the state. Picture: Mark Brake Source: The Courier-Mail
QUEENSLAND'S floodwaters may have receded in most places, but drowned mine pits are still hamstringing Queensland's massive coal industry, with only six or seven of the state's more than 50 mines back to near normal production.
The coal seam gas industry is faring better with the three main CSG companies in the Surat Basin - QGC, Arrow Energy and Origin Energy - back to full output or very close to it.
The Queensland Resources Council is sticking by estimates that the coal industry's problems - many of which could continue well into the second quarter of this year or beyond - may cost from $5 billion to $9 billion in lost revenue.
That is for the period from October last year to the end of June this year, though a good deal of that revenue will be deferred, rather than entirely lost, as demand will remain strong once mine production ramps up again.
The State Government has forecast losses of up to 15 million tonnes of production, a figure that the QRC believes is an underestimate.
"We are still of the view that we have lost in the order of 30 million tonnes of production, which is $400 million of royalties over the next few months that the state cannot afford to lose, given the extent of the rebuilding task that is ahead," a QRC spokesman said.
Of the mines still to fully recover from months of wet weather, 44 are said to be operating from 20 to 80 per cent of capacity.
If it was business as usual, Queensland's industry would be producing 51 million tonnes of coal a quarter, a large percentage of it high-value coking coal, which is fetching up to $US233 a tonne under existing contracts.
There are predictions, given the production shortfalls, that contract prices could rise to $US300-$US400 a tonne for the three months from April 1.
But dewatering mining pits is not straightforward. The QRC tried to convince the Government to use emergency powers to allow the industry to bypass normal environmental controls on discharging waste water.
But the Department of Environment and Resource Management is sticking by existing rules.
DERM's rules, under what are called Transitional Environmental Programs, obviously do allow excess water to be discharged - but not haphazardly.
DERM assesses TEPs on a case by case basis. And DERM director general John Bradley told The Courier-Mail yesterday: "Mines must be able to submit robust information on their infrastructure options, the chemical composition of stored water, receiving water flows, potential impacts on downstream users and relevant ecosystems that may be at risk due to the release."
DERM switched extra personnel to TEP application processing late last year and many staff skipped holidays and worked weekends on the process, which is continuing.
But Mr Bradley said some mines didn't have sufficiently robust infrastructure or sufficient environmental expertise to quickly provide the information DERM needed to approve TEP applications.
Miners are improvising in places, however, to meet DERM's requirements, with some "shandying" their waste water - by adding clean water to their polluted waste to make it more environmentally acceptable.
Some mines are also able to pump water pit to pit, to expose coal for mining, while those near now slow-flowing or all but dry watercourses are praying for rain - to provide enough flow to dilute mine discharge to a sufficient level to make sure it doesn't affect users and ecosystems downstream.
Exports from Dalrymple Bay and Hay Point were 5.54 million tonnes in January and 6.46 million in December, compared with 8.37 million in January 2010. Abbot Point exported 1.28 million tonnes in January, down 400,000 from December.
