Ulan No 3 mines the base level 3 metres of the Ulan seam for thermal coal.

The Ulan Seam generally dips uniformly towards the north-east at between one and two degrees, and the seam thickness averages 5 to 7 metres throughout the Ulan Mine Complex. It consists of ten separate plies, which are consolidated into four working sections within the open cut. The working sections are separated by thin claystone horizons.

The Ulan Underground (Ulan No.3) entry is via a drift portal entry adjacent to the Ulan Underground Offices. The Ulan Underground Mine Plan has main headings in the centre of the mine plan with approximately 400m wide longwall panels to the West and East. Development of roadways is completed using continuous miners with shuttle cars and conveyors to remove the coal. Ulan Underground will utilise standard longwall mining methods and target the economic portion of the Ulan Coal Seam. The longwall face is installed at the end of the panel furthest from the main headings and mining progresses toward the main headings to complete the longwall extraction. Panel extraction timing is outlined in MOP Plan 3A.

Ulan Underground mining operations13 included development of roadways for LWW7 and LWW8, in accordance with first workings approvals. Extraction of Ulan Underground LWW5 was in accordance with the SMP for Longwalls 27-29 & LWW4 to LWW5. LWW5 was completed in January 2020 with the extraction of the final 141m of that panel. Extraction of Ulan Underground LWW6 was in accordance with EP14 for Longwalls LW30 and LWW6 to LWW815. LWW6 commenced extraction on 8 February 2020 16 and had retreated 2,904m by 31 December 2020.

ROM coal is delivered to the HUB Stockpile via conveyors from Ulan No. 3 underground mine.

Removing the bottom 3 metres of the Ulan Seam reduces the need to wash the coal; approximately < 30% of run of mine coal from the underground requires washing. All underground coal is conveyed to the surface stockpiles by the coal clearance conveyor system. Underground coal that does not require washing is crushed and conveyed directly to the product stockpiles in preparation for railing offsite. The higher ash coal is trucked to the coal wash plant reclaim stockpile where it is picked up by a reclaimer and conveyed to the coal handling preparation plant (CHPP).

CHPP has a flexible 1800 tph raw coal receivals system which allows for either an individual, or any combination of, direct plant feed, raw coal stockpiling or reclamation from the stockpile by a bucket wheel reclaimer.

A 1000 tonne surge bin distributes feed to a nominal capacity 1200 tph between two mod ........