In one of the industry’s largest deals, the five-year facility with GE Commercial Finance will fund mobile mining equipment including a face shovel, excavators and dump trucks, which the company plans to purchase over the next 18 months.
The funding will also give Macarthur Coal the backing it needs to directly employ staff at Coppabella.
Macarthur Coal is the key supplier of low volatile pulverised injection coal to steel mills in Asia, Europe and the Americas, accounting for about 44% of Australia’s PCI exports.
In 2007 the company forecasts after-tax profits of $63-73 million and is currently looking to expand its operations with a number of new Queensland minesites including Codrilla, Olive Downs and Walunga.