The central Queensland mine, located 350 kilometres south-west of Mackay, will experience major changes at the start of next year when the eastern region currently being mined is sealed off and operations begin beyond a major fault line.

 

The Ti-Tree fault, with a 12 to 15 metre vertical displacement, has created a division in the work area and resulted in lack of continuity through the seam. Rather than viewing the fault as a major setback, Kestrel general manager Dan Teal instead perceived a plethora of opportunities.

 

“It is a fresh start for the mine and I am dealing with it in that manner,” Teal said.

 

“Effectively we are building a new mine the way we want to do it and not limited by the issues of the way this mine was set up in the past.”

 

Not only does Ti-Tree represent a shift in operations, it also signifies a change in markets.

 

The 300-series blocks will deliver better quality at 85% coking coal as opposed to the 50% coking coal presently being mined in the Kestrel 200-series panels.

 

Despite being a better quality coal, the growth into the coke market comes at a time when prices are low and competition is high.

 

This year Pacific Coal will be operational at Hail Creek representing an additional deposit of coking coal onto an already tight market. However, Teal said he was confident Kestrel retained solid markets.

 

“There is a lot of support for the high fluidity coal that is mined in this area, it is attractive to the steel mills to have some of this coal in their blends,” Teal said.

 

Kestrel markets will predominantly be in Japan with a small percentage exported into Europe, Mexico and Taiwan.

 

Kestrel has set an extremely tight schedule for the changeout, with development of the installation face set for November, giving time in December for the complete transition and installation. Contractor Mine Tech Services will assist the Kestrel longwall teams on the changeout and the hire equipment will be supplied by Allied Plant Hire.

 

Panels 207 and 208 will be extracted this year and extraction in panel 301 will commence in 2004.

 

In the long term, Kestrel will move into the 10,000 hectare Gordon Downs lease in 2007. The coal on the property will allow it to continue underground mining there for another 25 years with an estimated 100 million tonnes in coal reserves.

 

In present works, two sets of gate roads are under development with 2.5 kilometres completed on panel 301 and 1.7 kilometres on panel 312. The entire panel length is 3.5 kilometres.

 

The transition to the new area will force a modification of Kestrel’s equipment settings with a change of seam thickness from 2.4 metres to 3.2 metres.

 

Teal said the increase of seam thickness will suit their 290 2-leg Joy chock shields, which were designed for the initial mining area with seams of 3 to 3.2 metres.

 

“We are having difficulties mining the thinner seam, down to 2.4m, we have had to relocate hydraulic hoses and the whole configuration inside the shields,” he said.

 

“It will be a relief to get into this area because it is what this equipment was designed for in the first place.”

 

Kestrel has evolved a dramatically different design for the Western area longwall blocks after extensive exploration work.

 

“We had a very different design which was inherited from the previous owners, one set of main roads out of the centre, and a herring bone pattern coming off both sides.”

 

“In view of the exploration work done, we found that design wasn’t the best orientation of the longwall blocks due to an array of factors such as gas, water, coal haulage systems and stress orientations.”

 

A 300 metre barrier of sterilised coal has been left around the fault.

 

Other development work being undertaken by Mackay-based company Mastermyne, has been two additional stone drives through the fault to enable a simple conveyor system.

 

The design features a 1.7 kilometre drift conveyor out of the mine fed by a single Nepean Mining trunk conveyor receiving from the 300 series of blocks. The conveyer will be set up for 4500t/hr, an increase from past operations that have been limited to 2500t/hr.

 

The trunk conveyer system has left plenty of challenges for the Nepean Mining and Mastermyne construction team who have had to design around a downhill operation in its final configuration.

 

“We are going to have to put a lot of braking on it. It will be new to Kestrel to introduce the variable voltage, variable frequency (VVVF) drives.”

 

In contrast, the gateroad belt will have to haul uphill through a 100 metre difference in elevation along the length the panel. This has also caused plenty of headaches in development.

 

“When you are developing down hill you are constantly dealing with water at the face which requires a lot of management, a lot of pumping, a lot of people dedicated to making sure pumps don’t block up,” he said.

 

Continues.