Export milestone as Bowen Coking Coal steams ahead

Bowen Coking Coal is poised to accelerate production from its Burton Complex after achieving its maiden export shipment of Broadmeadow East coal on a Cape-size vessel. The vessel left Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal this week (January 31) loaded with 154,000 tonnes of high-quality energy coal for Asian power generators. Broadmeadow East is the first producing pit in the company’s greater Burton Complex in the Bowen Basin and it expects also to be mining from the Burton pit within the next two or three months. Production is set to step up as the company brings the refurbished Burton CHPP online. "This quarter we'll look to get the first module of our wash plant going and start putting our own coal through our own infrastructure. That's really when we should start to hit our straps," executive chairman Nick Jorss said. He described this week's Broadmeadow East shipment as a big milestone for the company and another step in the ramp-up as it heads for a production target of 5Mtpa ROM by 2024. Mining at Broadmeadow East began mid-2022 and about 41,000 tonnes of coal were railed in late October via the nearby Carborough Downs Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP) and Train Load Out (TLO) facility. This was made possible under a coal washing and infrastructure sharing arrangement that Bowen Coking Coal has with Fitzroy Australia. Refurbished floatation cells refitted in the Burton CHPP. And December saw unwashed bypass coal railed from Bowen’s newly refurbished Mallawa TLO, located at the Burton Complex. The Burton CHPP consists of a crushing circuit with primary, secondary and tertiary circuits feeding into two separate CHPP modules (Module 1 and 2) which can operate independent of each other. Bowen Coking Coal said the feeder and all three crushers had been refurbished and would be commissioned first. ROM not used for bypass coal is being hauled to the CHPP and stockpiled for commissioning of the plant, with washing of first coal at Module 1 is expected within the March quarter. Buma Australia has been awarded the contract for mining operations at Burton and has commenced mobilisation of equipment to site. Bowen Coking Coal reported wet weather had delayed its plans to ship its maiden Broadmeadow East export shipment on a Cape size vessel. Operations at the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal were recently impacted to the extent where the port issued a force majeure notice to customers. Bowen Coking Coal said also the exceptional deluge in Mackay had increased the total moisture of coal, impacted the stockpile profiles and resulted in minor stockpile losses which required some time for moisture drainage and to reshape the stockpiles. IMAGE at top of page: Refurbished cyclones and screens for Module 1 being fitted in the Burton CHPP

Export milestone as Bowen Coking Coal steams ahead

Industry Queensland

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