The one billionth tonne was loaded onto a bulk carrier bound for India, a rapidly growing market for BMA, a strategic partnership between BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi Development.
The achievement comes after 38 years of coal mining and marketing in the Central Queensland region by BMA and its predecessors.
One billion tonnes of high quality coking coal is enough steel to construct 28,400 Sydney Harbour Bridges which would reach from Brisbane to Rome and back.
The company also announced the approval of Phase 2 of the Hay Point coal terminal expansion program, to lift capacity by 4 million tonnes per annum to 44Mtpa by the first quarter of 2007. Approval of phases three and four would increase capacity to an estimated 55 – 57Mtpa and environmental approvals are being sought for this further expansion.
