Published in the March 2012 Australia’s Mining Monthly

Whitehaven Coal and Idemitsu Australia, both situated in NSW’s Gunnedah Basin, had to shut down parts of their operations due to wet weather.

Forced to close four of its open cut mines at the beginning of February as a result of heavy rainfall across the state, Whitehaven lost about one week of production.

No equipment was damaged and none of the four open pits flooded but all recorded volumes of water in the pits.

The Gunnedah Basin was hit by similar conditions in November and December last year, also affecting coal production at the Whitehaven mines.

Mining operations recommenced at Whitehaven’s open cut mines, Werris Creek, Tarrawonga, Sunnyside and Rocglen on February 8.

Coal production was underway at a reduced rate at Werris Creek and Tarrawonga immediately after re-opening, while the pit water issues were being addressed.

Mining was expected to resume at Sunnyside and Rocglen a few days after the operations restarted.

It took a further week for the coal haulage operations to the Gunnedah wash plant and rail load out to resume, as the completion of road repairs and council approval to open the Bluevale Road in Gunnedah was pending.

Access roads to the Rocglen mine, the Tarrawonga mine and the Gunnedah coal handling preparation plant were closed due to the weather conditions.

Whitehaven said mining had continued at its Narrabri operation in northwest NSW but was affected by the inability of employers to travel to site.

Idemitsu Australia owns 30% of the Tarrawonga coal mine through a joint venture with Whitehaven Coal, which owns the remaining 70%.

Boggabri was Idemitsu’s only wholly owned mine affected in the area.

“Operations at Boggabri Coal have been temporarily suspended as a result of flooding that has affected the pit and roads on site,” an Idemitsu spokesman said.

“Our priority has been to ensure our workers are safe and kept up-to-date on the flooding and our progress in restoring operations.”

Flooding affected both the Boggabri pit and some of the roads on the site though no infrastructure was damaged.

Idemitsu only gained access to the Boggabri mine on

February 8 after rain had eased and the access roads were reopened.

“We are working with the relevant authorities to obtain approvals to discharge flood water and restore safe operations at Boggabri as soon as possible,” the Idemitsu spokesman said.

The aim is to determine the volume ofwater to be removed and start dewateringas soon as possible in order to restore operations.

Idemitsu’s Muswellbrook Coal Company operation continued to operate.

Idemitsu also owns 85% of the Ensham Resources coal operation, located 40km northeast of Emerald in Queensland. It has not been affected by rain this time around.

The rain events in NSW are a bitter reminder for the company as Ensham’s open cut mine experienced severe flooding dueto adverse weather conditions in the wet season last year.

Ensham’s pits also flooded during excessive rainfall in December 2010, which led to the temporary closure of the mine.

Heavy rainfall and flooding along the east coast of Australia could drive up Newcastle coal prices as production forecasts are dented under the impact of the weather.

Forced to close four of its open cut mines at the beginning of February as a result of heavy rainfall across the state, Whitehaven lost about one week of production.