The decision follows the mine’s restart earlier this year after Glencore acquired the operation formerly known as Glennies Creek from Vale in 2015.

Operations manager Peter Ostermann said Integra was on schedule to deliver first coal from the longwall later this month.

“We have begun work to add an additional longwall block to current mine plans, which will extend the current mine life by up to 12 months,” he said.

“In addition, we will require a second development crew, which will add up to 30 extra positions to nearly 200 people working on site at present.”

According to Glencore, this decision is a reflection of present market conditions, improvements to the existing infrastructure and initial development performance meeting targets.

An exploration drilling program across the Integra mine lease is continuing as part of a planning exercise looking at longer term options for the operation. The mine is expected to produce 1.3 million tonnes of high fluidity saleable coking coal for 2017.

Glencore acquired the underground mine from Vale while Bloomfield separately acquired the open cut mine, wash plant and rail loop.

The Integra underground mine has been on care and maintenance since 2014 and Glencore has continued to assess options for a restart against global coal market conditions.

“The Integra mine has one longwall block already formed, providing an opportunity to begin mining with minimal delays or additional investment,” Glencore head of Australian coal operations Ian Cribb said. 

“Over the next two years, we also plan to complete and extract coal from a second longwall block that has already been partially developed at the mine.”

Due to a number of Glencore’s thermal coal mines having recently closed or reaching the end of their scheduled mine life, production at Integra is not expected to increase the company’s overall coal sales from Australia.