Coronado keeps Curragh coal mine expansion on track
Coronado, the owners of the Curragh coal mine in Central Queensland, said it was continuing its capital program at the mine and plans an expansion by 2025 despite the royalties controversy that hit the market.
The Prime Minister has called for clarity on reports of a Chinese ban on Australian coal exports.
Earlier this year the State Government dramatically increased royalties for coal producers so that the top rate effectively tripled.
That led to BHP and its joint venture partner Mitsubishi to freeze capital spending on its Queensland mines. However, Coronado is moving ahead.
“Planned growth activities continued with the completion of the Curragh North underground pre-feasibility and the Z-pit expansion study,” the company said in its quarterly report.
“These results are under review and are showing positive results.”
Coronado was also working on a program to capture and use coal seam methane as a diesel substitute and to reduce emissions at the site.
The September quarter production at Curragh was also 28 per cent higher at 3 million tonnes, which the company said reflected its capital spending in the first half. However, rain had impacted production with 178mm falling in the quarter at the nearby town of Blackwater. This followed more than 200mm in the June quarter.
This meant that it had revised its production guidance for 2022 and increased its expected costs.
Group revenue for the company was still at record levels at $US2.8 billion for the year to date. The September quarter revenue was $US874 million, which was down 15 per cent on the June quarter.
It said there had been no resolution from its potential merger talks with Peabody.
