Open Cut Mining
The open cuts will become deeper as mining progresses. The maximum depth of the open cut will be approximately 350 m below surface in South Pit 1.
The maximum extent of these open pits, the approximate maximum depth below surface at which coal seams are located and the year in which the maximum extent is reached.
The broad mining methodology for each open pit is:
- vegetation clearing (where required);
- soil stripping and storage or direct spreading;
- blasting of the waste rock (where required);
- removal of waste rock by truck, excavator and dragline in box-cuts, creating new mining strips and filling in old/previously mined voids;
- possible blasting of coal and the excavation of ROM coal by excavator and/or dragline;
- hauling of ROM coal to the ROM pad by off-road trucks and then to the CHPPs for washing and processing and train load out;
- final landform re-profiling, topsoiling and revegetation activities by earthmoving equipment.
The open cut mining process involves stripping surface soils, weathered and fresh waste rock and extracting coal quantities to meet coal production requirements. Other activities, including drilling and blasting, production dozing and ripping and pushing of thin coal seams, are scheduled to allow an orderly progression from one activity to the next to achieve a required ROM coal production.
The initial boxcut will be developed utilising ........
