The Coppabella mine is an open-cut metallurgical coal operation located in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, about 140km south-west of Mackay and about 25km north-east of Moranbah. The mine produces pulverised coal injection (PCI) coal, which is used in steelmaking as a partial substitute for coke in blast furnaces.

Mining at Coppabella is conducted using conventional open-cut methods, including drilling and blasting followed by truck-and-shovel extraction of coal seams within the Bowen Basin’s Permian coal measures. The operation forms part of the Coppabella Moorvale Joint Venture, which includes the nearby Moorvale mine.

Coal extracted from Coppabella is processed at the on-site coal handling and preparation plant before being transported via the Goonyella rail system to export terminals at the Port of Hay Point near Mackay.

The mine was originally developed by Peabody Energy in the late 1990s. Coppabella remains an important producer of PCI coal and contributes to Queensland’s metallurgical coal export industry.