The key target seams lie within the Newcastle coal measures and include the Wallarah (where present), Great Northern, Fassifern and Upper Pilot seams.

The MCCO (Mangoola Coal Continued Operations) Additional Project Area is located in the north-western coal-producing region of the Hunter Coalfield. The coal seams within the MCCO Additional Project Area form part of the Late Permian Newcastle Coal Measures of the Singleton Super Group. They gently dip to the west at about 2 degrees below horizontal and reach a depth to the floor of the lowest seam of approximately 125 m at the lowest point relative to the highest topographical location within the MCCO Additional Mining Area.

In order of increasing depth, the key target seams for mining within the Proposed Additional Mining Area include the:
- Wallarah seam
- Great Northern seam
- Fassifern seam
- Upper Pilot seam.

Mangoola Coal Mine is an open cut coal operation where mining is primarily undertaken using drill and blasting techniques to break the overburden, excavators loading dump trucks to move overburden and coal, assisted by supporting ancillary mining equipment.

The general sequence of mining includes stripping of topsoil, removal of overburden, extraction of the coal resource, overburden emplacement, landform establishment and progressive rehabilitation. Dump trucks haul ROM coal to the CHPP via internal haul roads for processing. Mining activities occur 24 hours per day, seven days a week at a maximum approved rate of up to 13.5 Mtpa ROM coal. Mining areas within the Approved Mangoola Coal Mine Disturbance Area include Main Pit West and South Pit.

Mangoola is a thermal coal mine which produces for both the domestic and exports markets.

Coal handling and processing occurs at the Mangoola Coal Mine CHPP. The CHPP has the capacity to process the approved 13.5 Mt of ROM coal per annum.

Once delivered by truck to the ROM pad, ROM coal can be placed directly into the ROM bin or placed onto a nominal 250,000 tonne capacity ROM coal stockpile. ROM coal is crushed and washed at the CHPP. This processing separates the raw coal into various products, coarse rejects and fine tailings. The CHPP also has the capability to bypass the washing process by crushing raw coal. The resulting coal products are then delivered to the product coal stockpile via conveyor for transportation off site by train via the rail loadout facility.

The product coal stockpile area has a nominal capacity of 600,000 tonnes. Dozers are used to manage stockpile capacity and blend coal products during reclaim. The bypass system is also utilised where appropriate which allows crushed coal to bypass the CHPP and be transported directly by enclosed conveyor from the surge bin straight to the product coal stockpile area.

Product coal is reclaimed through valves in the floor of the product coal stockpile and transferred to the train loading facility via conveyor. Product coal is loaded onto trains and transported to market via the Mangoola Coal Mine rail loop which is connected to the Ulan- Muswellbrook Railway. Coal from Mangoola Coal Mine is sold to both the domestic market including supplying the Bayswater and Liddell Power Stations and export markets via the Port of Newcastle.