Illawarra Coal's assets are located in the southern portion of the Sydney Basin within the Southern Coalfield.

The full sequence of Triassic to Permian sedimentary units are present within the Illawarra Coal's areas, including the Permian Shoalhaven Group, Illawarra Coal Measures and the overlying Triassic Narrabeen Group and Hawkesbury Sandstone.

Wongawilli Coal ranges between 7 to 11 m thick and consists of inter-banded tuffs, carbonaceous shales and coal. The basal 4 m contains coal of economic potential and is currently mined at the Dendrobium Mine. The Wongawilli Coal is subdivided into 13 individual plies and 12 partings units and into three working sections as shown in. The working sections are based on mining experience and are the most relevant division of the seam. The Second Machine Band working section is generally the target of mining at Dendrobium.

The structure over the Illawarra operation area is relatively well defined based on the geological data available. Seam dips over the area are generally low (1° to 3°). There are localised variations in seam structures. Relatively steeply dipping strata occurring at the Dendrobium Mine between Areas 2 and 3 where dips reach 7° - 8° in an area associated with a small scale fault. The localised steeper dip zones are also often associated with underlying igneous intrusions and domes.

Faulting has been identified across the Bulli Seam Operation and Dendrobium Operation. The faul ........

Dendrobium Mine extracts coal from the Wongawilli Seam (also known as the No 3 Seam) of the Southern Coalfield. Three mining areas make up the approved mine plan for Dendrobium and are named Areas 1, 2 and 3 (including 3A, 3B and 3C). Longwall mining during the reporting period was undertaken in Area 3A (Longwall (LW) 19) and Area 3C (LW21). The mine primarily produces hard coking coal and is approved to produce up to 5.2 million tonnes per annum until 31 December 2030. Dendrobium Mine is comprised of a number of sites as detailed below.

Kemira Valley Coal Loading Facility (KVCLF)
Coal is transported from the underground workings to the KVCLF via a conveyor network, reaching the surface via the Kemira Valley Tunnel (KVT). The coal is then fed through a coal sizer, into a rill tower and deposited onto a 140,000-tonne capacity stockpile. Coal is loaded onto trains via an enclosed rail-loading chute

Kemira Valley Rail Line (KVRL)
The private KVRL is used to transport the coal from the KVCLF to the Dendrobium Coal Preparation Plant (DCPP).

Ventilation Shaft 1
The fan housings associated with Ventilation Shaft 1 were decommissioned in October 2008 and relocated to Ventilation Shaft 3. This shaft now provides intake air to the underground workings.

Ventilation Shaft 2/3 Site (ML 1566)
Construction of Ventilation Shafts 2 and 3 commenced during 2006 and was completed in 2008. Ventilation Shaft 2 (downcast) and 3 (u ........

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