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In addition, the existing coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP) will be upgraded to increase its throughput capacity by 66%, from 300 tonnes per hour to 500t per hour.
The former Cook colliery operation was a bord and pillar operation with an output of 600,000tpa.
The contract for the supply of the longwall equipment was awarded to Nepean Longwall and includes the shields being supplied by BMJ (China), the shearer from Eickhoff and the AFC, BSL, crusher, bootend and power infrastructure from Nepean.
The control system was supplied by Nepean/Tiefenbach.
The 150m longwall tailored for Cook Colliery was manufactured on four continents and has an operating section assembled at Nepean Longwall’s Rutherford facility.
Caledon Resources is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guangdong Rising Assets Management, a Chinese state-owned investment group, who acquired Caledon in August 2011.
The Cook colliery, which is located about 30km south of the Blackwater township, produces both coking and thermal coal (about 80:20 coking-thermal split).
There are two substantial seams at the Cook colliery, the Castor seam at a depth of 130m to 350m and the Argo seam at a depth of about 15m to 20m below the Castor seam.
As the Castor seam has been extensively mined, it provides an insight into what can be expected in the lower Argo seam, enabling optimisation of mine plans.
