The Hail Creek Mine is a large open-cut coal operation located about 120km south-west of Mackay and about 40km north-west of Nebo. The mine produces both metallurgical coal used in steelmaking and thermal coal used for electricity generation.

Coal resources at Hail Creek were first discovered in 1968, with construction beginning in 2001 and production commencing in 2003. The mine operates as a surface mining operation using conventional dragline, truck and shovel methods to remove overburden and extract coal from seams such as the Elphinstone and Hynds seams.

The operation is currently managed by Glencore, which acquired a majority interest in the mine from Rio Tinto in 2018. Ownership is held through a joint venture including partners such as Marubeni and Sumitomo.

Coal from the mine is processed on site before being transported approximately 100km by rail to the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal near Mackay, where it is exported to international markets.

Hail Creek is one of the larger coal operations in the Bowen Basin and contributes significantly to Queensland’s metallurgical coal export industry.