Steady production at the Moolarben, as well as Yancoal’s Yarrabee and Middlemount open cut operations offset reduced run rates at the New South Wales underground mines, resulting from a scheduled longwall move at Ashton and restructures of the Austar and Abel mines.
The NSW Department of Industry Resources and Energy granted the mining lease and approved the mining operations plan for the Moolarben Stage Two Project during September.
But the scheduled restructure of operations at Austar including the cessation of longwall operations and subsequent introduction of two development production teams, resulted in production being down 92% year‐on‐year and 86% on the previous quarter.
Overall Yancoal’s quarterly production of 3.82 million tonnes saleable coal in the September quarter is down 12% year‐on‐year.
Ashton’s strong production gains were offset by a scheduled longwall move at the beginning of the reporting period, with the recommencement of production subsequently interrupted by the further narrowing of the block, as required.
A return to full production overcame anticipated challenging geological conditions, achieving results up 148% on the year prior and down 11% on the previous quarter.
Abel production was in line with expectations, down 33% year‐on‐year and down 24% on the previous quarter, as a result of the mine’s restructure and reduction in operations from three extractors to one and five developers to two.
Stratford/Duralie completed the transition from a contractor‐managed operation to an owner‐operated model.
Significant interruptions to the rail line during the reporting period negatively impacted haulage of Duralie product to Stratford for washing.
As a result, total production was down 12% on the previous quarter and 27%
year‐on‐year.
In Queensland, Middlemount open cut production remained consistently strong throughout the reporting period, up one percent on the previous quarter and 20% year‐on‐year, with positive weather conditions aiding uninterrupted production and haulage rates.
Yarrabee production was up 2% on the previous quarter, with good weather conditions and consistent fleet management similarly enabling consistent production rates and throughput for the period.
