Burton Coal Mine
Location:
150km south-west of Mackay
Value:
$2.01 billion
Client:
Peabody Energy Coal Ltd
Capability:
Mine Planning & Scheduling
Contract Type:
Construct and operate
Start Date:
January 1996
Duration:
January 1996 onwards
Situated in the northern reaches of Queensland’s Bowen Basin coalfields, the Burton Coal Project stretches over 35 kilometres and predominantly utilises a terrace mining truck and shovel operation.
Thiess was awarded the initial design, construct and operate mining contract in January 1996. Since then the Burton Coal Project has mined more than 60 million tonnes of coal. Peabody Energy Australia Coal currently owns 95 per cent of the mine with Thiess claiming the remaining 5 per cent as part of the financing arrangement. The Life of Mine contract currently has work planned up to 2016.
Thiess was responsible for the design and construction of all mine infrastructure and operations including mining, coal processing and loading the coal into rail wagons for transport to the port.
Mining in the original pit of Burton was completed in June 2005 and Broadmeadow and Wallanbah pits were completed in 2009. Two other pits south of Burton are operational. Both Bullock Creek and Plumtree South became operational in early 2010. The pits operate as satellite operations from the main industrial area, with coal hauled by road from each area to the coal processing plant. The operations continue to maintain a coal feed rate between 3.5 and 5.7Mt per annum depending on client rail requirements.
