Metallurgical Coal operates six mines in Australia: one wholly owned, and five in which it has a controlling interest. Five of the mines are located in Queensland’s Bowen Basin: Moranbah North (metallurgical coal), Capcoal (metallurgical and thermal coal), Foxleigh (metallurgical coal), Dawson (metallurgical and thermal coal) and Callide (thermal coal). Capcoal comprises two underground mines (Grasstree and Aquila) and two open cut mines (Lake Lindsay and Oak Park);

The Bowen Basin of eastern Australia contains up to 10 km of largely clastic sediment from terrestrial and shallow marine origin along with substantial volumes of economic coals. The German Creek Formation (GCM), the Moranbah coal measures (MCM) and the Rangal Group Measures (RCM) host most of the open pit and underground mining operations. Basin sediments were sourced from emergent volcanic uplands, so clasts are generally lithic and form clay-rich weathering products. The basal unit of the GCM is marine and devoid of coal, and overlain by a delta plain coal bearing sequence of siltstones, some sandstones, and interbedded, often carbonaceous, siltstone and sandstone with coals. The MCM comprises alluvial plain sediments overlying a shallow marine shelf, with sequences of thick sheets of lithic sandstone and interbedded siltstone-sandstone generally overlying carbonaceous siltstone and coal. The basin-wide RCM sequence comprises sandstones, siltstones, interbedded sandstone-siltstone, carbonaceous siltstones, and coals, and is overlain by a noncoal bearing alluvial sequence of massive sandstone and siltstone. Several tuffaceous marker beds occur, some of which are lithified while others form thin bands of high plasticity clay. In most areas there is a Tertiary unconformity overlain by sheets of clay-bound alluvial or lacustrine sediments, and in some areas there are basalt flows.

Deep weathering cycles occurred during Tertiary time, and modern drainage courses include alluvial sequences to depths of 20m or more. Weathering alteration includes leaching, laterisation, and transformation to clay. Depths of distinct weathering to complete transformation range from 15m to 45m. Bowen Basin coal measures rock material strengths range from extremely low (UCS <2MPa) to high (20 to 60MPa) and generally average 10 to 25MPa. Typically material stiffnesses fall into the low to moderate modulus ratio range.

Grasstree Mine is an underground longwall coal mine located approximately 26 km east of the Tieri township, 250 km south-west of Mackay, Central Queensland.

Grasstree Mine has a high methane gas make on the longwall, is practicing methane drainage and utilises ventilation methods to keep the gas fringe away from the tailgate motor area of the working longwall. Nearby mines have all had frictional ignitions on both longwall and development panels.

Capcoal coal is washed at a Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP) producing prime quality hard coking coal for export.

After processing, coal is transported 360 kilometres north-east by rail to the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal for export.

Anglo American proposes to lift production across Capcoal’s underground and open cut operations over the next two years to increase the ROM tonnes to the Capcoal CHPP to 15 Mt per annum and increase sales to 11 Mt per annum.