Stanmore Coal announces official re-opening of Isaac Plains Mine

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www.stanmorecoal.com.au/project/isaac-plains

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has officially opened Stanmore Coal Limited’s Isaac Plains Mine located outside Moranbah.

www.stanmorecoal.com.au/project/isaac-plains
www.stanmorecoal.com.au/project/isaac-plains

The company acquired the mine and associated operating assets – including a dragline, coal handling plant and train loading facilities – from Vale and Sumitomo in November 2015.

Since then, it has re-started operations and produced first coal in April 2016, creating more than 150 direct jobs.

The mine will produce 1.1 million tonnes per annum of coking coal for export to Asian steel mills, generating yearly royalties of more than $7 million to the State Government.

Adertisement

Managing Director, Nick Jorss pointed out that the company has defied the downturn in the coal sector to become Australia’s newest coking coal producer.

“We have gone against the tide in the coal sector to create value for our investors and the central Queensland community. We believe we’ve picked the right point in the cycle to shift from explorer to exporter with operating costs reduced by 35%,” he said.

“We are proud to be the newest producer in one of the world’s premier coal basins, and only six months after completing the acquisition of Isaac Plains we are shipping our first exports to some of the leading steel mills in Asia. Demand for steel in almost every aspect of modern life gives us the long-term confidence in the coking coal market to invest and develop Isaac Plains.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the mining sector was going through a rough patch, but demand remained strong for Queensland’s resources and expertise.

“As the re-opening of Isaac Plains here today in Central Queensland shows, investors still have confidence in Queensland and our resources,” she said.

“We have new faces, like Stanmore Coal, and new investors who are calling the bottom of the market, stepping up and creating jobs, like the 150 jobs here at Isaac Plains. As well, we have major players like QGC and Rio Tinto investing billions in gas and bauxite, commodities where markets are holding better.”

The Isaac Plains Mine has a projected life of more than ten years.