A longwall move at Crinum move in the March quarter had earlier impacted on production rates that were already adversely affected by bad weather.

At current mining rates, operations at Crinum are expected to cease in the first quarter of the 2016 calendar year as the mine approaches the end of its economic reserve life.

In terms of production for the quarter Goonyella came out in front of the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance stable with 1.86Mt closely followed by Blackwater with 1.80Mt.

But the Goonyella result was well down on the 2Mt the mine produced in the June quarter.

Metallurgical coal production for the September 2015 quarter was in line with the prior period at 10.4Mt.

BHP Billiton said guidance for the 2016 financial year remains unchanged at 40Mt.

Turning to Indonesia, first production from its Haju mine was achieved during the September quarter with the company reporting 15,000t of production, the company said.

Energy coal production for the September 2015 quarter was broadly in line with the prior period and guidance for the 2016 financial year remains unchanged at 40 Mt.

Production at the Cerrejon mine in Colombia continues to be constrained by drought conditions, although volumes were 7% higher than the September 2014 quarter which was affected by more severe weather.

This offset a slight reduction in volumes at New South Wales Energy Coal during the quarter due to lower yield.

On 2 July 2015, BHP Billiton announced that the sale agreement for the San Juan Mine in the US to Westmoreland Coal Company had been executed.

Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to be completed at the end of the 2015 calendar year with WCC assuming full operation of the mine from 1 January 2016.