Post the August 2002 purchase of Powercoal, Centennial has 13 operating mines and managed production in the year ended June 2003 is budgeted to amount to 13.4 Mt. Its longwall mines include Springvale, Angus Place, Newstan and the development project, Mandalong, all in NSW.
At the company’s Springvale mine near Lithgow, a concerted effort of development has contributed to a first time ever situation where the mine has a development lead time of three months. Keeping the lead at around these levels becomes crucial in future years where the length of blocks is increased from the current length of around 2km to 3.8km. The face width will be increased from 255m to 305m in 2004, with a targeted production of 3Mtpa.
The mine’s major challenge has been coming to grips with roof support. Moult said the mine utilised the best geological predictive tools available and operated under a disciplined regime of roof support.
“We have proven over time at Springvale that doing it right the first time has allowed us to build up our development lead time,” he said.
The modelling developed at Springvale would be transplanted to adjacent Angus Place mine where conditions are similar. A key driver at present is maximising synergies with Angus Place. Moult said plans included standardisation of equipment, combining stores and reducing inventory, and improved stockpiling flexibility in the region. For example, tenders are currently pending for two identical face conveyors for the two operations.
The length of the Angus Place blocks is also being extended in 2004 from 2km to 3.5km, with a targeted production of over 3.5Mt.
The Newstan operation, near Lake Macquarie is going well Moult said, with a record month in September of 403,000t and a recent weekly record of 109,000t. One technical challenge is the presence of dykes in the seam and Moult said these would be cored.
The Mandalong longwall development is due to commence mining in January 2005 at an annual output of 4.5Mtpa. It is located near Newcastle adjacent to and connected to the Cooranbong bord and pillar mine.
Key issues included orienting the longwall between geological structures and managing subsidence issues. The belt system is to be upgraded to 2000 tph.
