In the first three weeks production went from 11,000 tonnes per week to 29,000t, rising to 50,000t in the third week.

 

Several factors have contributed, Gympie said. Lying ahead of current longwall panel, SL3 are much improved geological conditions. SL3 has 1.4Mt of remaining coal to be mined with another 1.5Mt already developed.

 

The annual production capacity of the operation has been increased by approximately 20% through conversion of longwall operations to a continuous 7-day roster.

 

The introduction of additional maintenance systems are improving the operational reliability of the longwall.