The Wards Well project is a proposed underground coal development located about 60km north-west of Emerald in Central Queensland.

The project targets high-quality metallurgical (coking) coal, a key raw material used in global steel production.

In April 2024, Peabody completed the acquisition of the southern portion of the Wards Well project from Stanmore Resources for about US$136 million.

Peabody has integrated the resource into long-term mine planning for its Centurion mine complex.

Wards Well has been studied as a longwall underground mining operation, potentially extracting coal from seams within the Moranbah Coal Measures.

The project has undergone several ownership and development changes. Although not yet developed as a standalone mine, Wards Well remains an important undeveloped coal resource in the Bowen Basin and could play a role in supporting future metallurgical coal production for export markets.