The equipment, used for recovering caved coal, was removed from the longwall in November in preparation for moving it to the stage three area when it completed mining the current panel. This is a usual practice where the equipment is removed prior to the end of a panel, according to Yancoal.

ROM production came in for the December quarter at 442,000 tonnes and saleable production 378,000t.

Development in the stage three area remains behind schedule and may cause a short delay in the startup of the longwall in the first panel in the first half of 2013. As a result, production from the mine in that time may be lower than usual.

However, by moving to a seven-day shift mining schedule, it may be possible to make up the shortfall by the end of the year, according to Yancoal.

“The mine is about to introduce the ‘LEAN’ process following the success of the process at the Abel Underground Mine at Donaldson,” the company said. “It is anticipated that underground development rates should improve over the 2013 as the process is fully integrated into the mine.”

A ground magnetometer survey was conducted over a section of the stage three area during November. Its aim was to pinpoint the location of a dyke in the area so that appropriate steps could be taken in development and with the longwall when mining through the impacted panels.

The Kitchener shaft was also successfully holed from underground during the quarter.

The project, when complete, will significantly improve the ventilation in the stage three area of the mine, a critical element for the Austar Mine’s long-term future, the company said.

Raise-boring of the 1500t underground bin, which is also an important element of the new mining area, started in December.

The mine achieved a new record for gate road development during October when 1352m were advanced in the month.