More than 50,000 bank cubic metres have been moved to form the box cutting that will form Grosvenor’s conveyor drift tunnel underground.
The square-shaped excavation marks the top of the entrance point for the conveyor drift.
Grosvenor will have two drifts, one for personnel and equipment (P&E) and one for the coal conveyor that will extend 10km and connect with the Moranbah North Coal Handling Preparation Plant, where it will be processed.
An Earth Pressure Balanced Machine (EPBM), a form of tunnel borer, is scheduled for assembly onsite in the second quarter of this year.
The EPBM is expected to intersect the Goonyella Middle Seam by the end of this year.
The Grosvenor mine is expected to produce 5 million tonnes per annum of coal for export markets over its projected life of 26 years.
The mine will feature a standard longwall design and target the same coal seam as Anglo American’s existing Moranbah North mine.
It is expected to start production in 2013, with commissioning of the longwall in 2016.
