The Maules Creek open cut mine has reached an annual production record of almost 12,700 megatonnes.

In a quarterly report announced last week, Whitehaven Coal said the mine had well surpassed the previous year’s result.

Its production milestone was an 18 per cent improvement on the previous financial year.

Among the other highlights mentioned in the quarterly update, and noted by the company’s managing director and chief executive officer, Paul Flynn, was the remarkable recovery of coal prices.

“Coal prices staged a remarkable recovery over the quarter, responding to increased economic activity as well as continuing supply-side constraints,” Mr Flynn said.

“Our largest mine, Maules Creek, finished with a solid quarter and demonstrated its full potential over the course of the year, delivering a record annual ROM production.”

Across the company’s operations, coal production was almost the same, year on year.

While Maules Creek ended the financial year on a strong note, difficult geographic conditions impacted the Narrabri underground longwall mine.

“Unfortunately difficult geological conditions persisted at Narrabri through the second half and, having now navigated through this area, we are focused on finishing the balance of the panel expeditiously and getting to the change out scheduled for quarter two of FY22,” Mr Flynn said.

Coal production at the Narrabri mine was 86 per cent below the result achieved in the June 2020 quarter.

Whitehaven’s reported noted that substantial repairs and longwall component replacements were undertaken during the quarter to return the longwall equipment to a level of reliability needed to complete mining panel 109.

“During the quarter, additional exploration drilling was undertaken on the remainder of panel 109. This programme of work validated previous drilling programmes showing no substantial geological structures,” the report read.

“The next longwall move from panel 109 to 110 is scheduled for quarter two FY22. The longwall change out will take approximately seven weeks.”

At the company’s Gunnedah open cut mine, coal production slightly increased on the previous financial year while the Tarrawonga mine saw coal production slightly decrease.

“Full year production performance has been impacted by the previously reported rain events in the March quarter as well as rain events in June 2021,” the report noted on the Tarrawonga operation.

The Werris Creek mine experienced a 13 per cent increase in coal production.

In last week’s report, the company also provided updates on its three developments projects – the Narrabri underground mine stage three extension, the Vickery extension and the Winchester South metallurgical coal project.

“These projects underpin Whitehaven’s plans to increase managed ROM production over the coming decade,” the report read.

In its Narrabri extension, the next step of the development is the preparation of the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s assessment report.

The report noted the declaration made in the Federal Court on July 8 that the federal Minister for Environment has a duty to take reasonable care to avoid causing personal injury or death to children ordinarily residing in Australia arising from emissions of carbon dioxide when making her determination under the EPBC Act in relation to the Vickery project.

“Importantly, this does not prevent the Minister from determining the project and indeed we note the deadline for the Minister’s decision has been extended to August 30 this year, by which time we expect a determination,” the report read.

“There are broader potential implications of the judgement for greenhouse gas-emitting projects as a precedent and, with this in mind, we note the Minister … signalled the federal government’s intention to appeal the decision to the Full Federal Court, which we welcome.”

See more like this:

To order photos from this page click here