It was only officially opened today but BMA’s Daunia mine in central Queensland has already set a raft of benchmarks.

Daunia is a 4.5 million tonne per annum greenfield mine development that achieved first production in March, ahead of schedule and under budget.

It is forecast to ramp up to nameplate capacity by the fourth quarter of the 2013 calendar year.

Officially opening the mine this morning, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman welcomed the venture and the long-term benefits it would provide the state.

“The resources industry is one of the four pillars of the economy and with good reason when you consider the impact this investment will have in Queensland,” Newman said.

“In the last financial year alone, BMA’s existing operations contributed an estimated $9.3 billion in direct spending.”

BHP Billiton coal president Dean Dalla Valle said $1.4 billion was invested to construct the mine, which has created 450 direct jobs in the state.

“It’s not often, even in a long career in mining, that the opportunity arises to open a new mine and I am privileged to be doing that today among our proud coal miners,” Dalla Valle said at the opening.

“In a strong partnership with Mitsubishi, we are the state’s largest coal miner, operating seven BMA metallurgical coal mines in central Queensland, along with the Hay Point coal terminal near Mackay.

“We will have eight BMA mines when the nearby Caval Ridge mine is completed next year.”

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said that from inception Daunia had set high benchmarks, starting with strong commitments to safety and workforce diversity.

“Almost half the 900 people working at Daunia were recruited from the Cairns and Brisbane regions with an emphasis on attracting women and indigenous people to the coal industry.

“As a result, 27% of the Daunia workforce is female and 5% indigenous – a remarkable achievement and a credit to BHP Billiton and their joint venture partners Mitsubishi Development,” Roche said.

Dalla Valle added that almost half of the 450 direct employees were new to the coal industry and the company had worked hard to ensure all employees had received adequate training, particularly in safety.

“Our new recruits are in good hands,” he said.

“From day one Daunia mine has set a high standard, with the construction team handing over the site with an exemplary safety record including four million work hours without a lost time injury.”

Roche congratulated BMA for its commitment to the Queensland coal industry, noting the mine’s expected life of 30 years.

“The coal industry is working through the toughest market conditions in a decade but there is no denying long-term demand for Queensland’s high quality coals will continue as Asia continues its economic development journey,” Roche commented.

Daunia’s high-quality, low-sulphur, semi-hard coking coal and pulverised coal injection coals are attractive to overseas buyers.

The project forms part of a growth strategy designed to service the expanding demands of India, China and other international metallurgical coal markets.