Full steam ahead for Isaac Downs coal project

Stanmore Coal has released further details of its progress on the Isaac Downs project near Moranbah, as it assesses tenders for the civil works required. The company is aiming for first coal in the first quarter of 2022 from the project, an open-cut metallurgical coal mine expected to produce about 35 million tonnes of coal over 16 years. Stanmore has contracted Palaris Australia to manage the bankable feasibility study, which has commenced. Civil contractors have tendered for a design and construct packages for the three major activities needed to establish the mine - bridgeworks for an underpass for the Peak Downs highway crossing, a haul road to link Isaac Downs with the existing Isaac Plains coal operations and construction of a flood protection levee. Stanmore said submissions from four companies had been received in late December and were under evaluation. In its December quarterly report, Stanmore noted that an extra step had been added to the approval process for Isaac Downs since the introduction of the Mineral and Energy Resources (Financial Provisioning) Act, requiring a formal assessment of rehabilitation costs. But it remains on track for for a 2022 start to production. The company has also made an application to the Queensland Department of Environment and Science and the Commonwealth to extend the area of disturbance approved for its Isaac Plains East mining lease. This will allow access to an extra 8.2 million tonnes of coal resources. Run-of-mine coal production at Isaac Plains East hit 864,000 tonnes in the December quarter - the second highest quarter on record, with 609,000 tonnes of saleable coal. The Isaac Plains complex is on track to achieve production guidance of 2.35Mt of saleable coal for the full year. A new CAT6060 excavator was commissioned at the site in November (pictured above), with an expected overburden capacity of 11 million bcm per year.

Full steam ahead for Isaac Downs coal project

Industry Queensland

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