The mine lies within the eastern part of the Queensland Bowen basin on the south-western edge of the Carborough syncline. The south-east section of the deposit has been affected by a cretaceous aged granodiorite intrusion that has changed the direction of the synclinal flank upwards.

A north-east dipping Permo-Triassic strata encloses the economic coal measures of Fort Cooper and Rangal. Although the surface of the strata is flat to slightly wave-like, the sediments hosted within the Carborough Syncline are folded and characterised by a major north to north-west striking fault system. One particular fault set is split into two distinct open-pit operations.

The Fort Cooper coal measures form the basal unit of the deposit. The measures, about 350m in thickness, consist of tuffaceous sediments with thick high-ash coal seams. The unit, however, is considered uneconomical within the deposit.

The thickness of seam currently being mined is 10 metres.

The mining process is conventional, using dragline with truck and shovel and hydraulic excavators. The P&H 4100 electrical shovel is used for pre-stripping operations and removing overburden. In order to facilitate the process, the overburden is first drilled and blasted.

MINING METHOD
Dragline, dozer/casting, truck/shovel

Mined ore is transported by coal trucks to the stockpile or to the ROM from where it is fed to the coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP).

Coal is processed in a 4.8Mtpa CHPP. To maximise plant output the coal is blended properly before it is fed to the CHPP. Raw coal is crushed in a three-phased crushing system to reduce the fine coal generation. Cleansing of coarse coal is done in a dense medium cyclone that has a 1,300mm diameter. The fine coal is cleaned in 24 banks of triple start spirals. Ultra-fine coal is recovered with two Jameson flotation cells.

The processed coal is sent to the product stockpile before it is loaded and delivered for export to the Dalrymple Bay Coal terminal.