Opencut production accounted for 12.752Mt while underground output accounted for 2.481Mt, bringing total production to slightly higher than the May 2005 level of 15.149Mt.

Of the total May 2006 production, coking coal exports totalled 8.423Mt, with thermal exports making up 3.901Mt. Some 2.128Mt were used within the state for electricity generation.

During the month, 19,607 people were employed at Queensland’s coal mines, both opencut and underground, compared with 16,583 employees in May 2005, and 3484 people were employed in the underground sector.

Coal exported through Gladstone amounted to 4.355Mt in May, followed by Dalrymple Bay (3.655Mt), Hay Point (2.967Mt), Abbot Point (1.121Mt) and Brisbane (224,749t).

Of total exports, Japan received the bulk, taking 5.011Mt, followed by South Korea, which received 1.867Mt and India (1.212Mt).