Production from the Curragh mine will be boosted to increase exports of coking coal, according to the mine's new owner, Wesfarmers. The Perth-based company bought the central Queensland mine from Arco and Mitsui for around $200 million, it's biggest acquisition since the purchase of Bunnings in 1994.
The Curragh mine produces equal amounts of steaming and coking coal, and recorded 1999 sales of 4.5 Mt. Projected sales in 2000 are 4.7 Mt. Curragh has in place steaming coal contracts to 2016 for the Stanwell power station. Wesfarmers managing director Michael Chaney said then that if a coal asset was in the right position on the cost curve and had attractive contractual arrangements, coal could be a good investment.
Wesfarmers' energy division is made up of coal mining, liquefied petroleum gas production and distribution, production and marketing of industrial gases. Its coal mining interests include the Premier open-cut mine at Collie in WA's South-West, which produces about 4 Mt a year for domestic power generation, and a 37% holding in the Bengalla open-cut mine in the NSW Hunter Valley. Bengalla is expected to produce more than 4 Mt next financial year.
"In a way this fills a bit of a gap as we haven't been in the coking coal business," Chaney said.
"We have recently seen some increases in iron ore prices and we think there is some prospect for coking coal prices to increase in the short to medium term."
