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Australia
Dendrobium Mine (Illawarra Operation)

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 Location:
72 km SW from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

  Regional Office:
Port Kembla Coal Terminal Port Kembla Road Inner Harbour
Port Kembla
New South Wales, Australia
2505
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  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Fleet
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

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Overview

StageProduction
Mine TypeUnderground
Commodities
  • Coal (metallurgical)
Mining Method
  • Longwall
Processing
  • Wash plant
  • Crush & Screen plant
  • Dewatering
  • Jig plant
  • Flotation
  • Dense media separation
Mine Life2030
The Dendrobium Mine Extension Project proposes to extend the mine life at the Dendrobium Mine to 31 December 2041 through underground mining operations within Area 5 until approximately 2035 (noting this may change depending on mine sequence), as well as use of the existing Dendrobium Mine surface facilities to 2041 to allow receipt of coal mined in approved Area 3C.
Latest NewsSouth32 tweaks mine extension to please the people     December 9, 2021


Owners

Source: p. 12
CompanyInterestOwnershipInvestor's Info
Dendrobium Coal Pty Ltd. (operator) 100 % Direct
South32 Limited 100 % Indirect
The Dendrobium Mine is owned and operated by Dendrobium Coal Pty Ltd, a subsidiary company of Illawarra Coal Holdings Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of South32 Limited.

Deposit Type

  • Sedimentary


Summary:

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 faults have been identified by 3D seismic, 2D seismic, underground mapping, underground drilling, de-gassing intra-seam holes and, to a lesser extent, interpreted from floor contours generated from drill-hole data. The faults are predominately extension normal faults, although low angle thrust faults have also been identified (such as Maingate 12 at Dendrobium).

At the Dendrobium Operation only four faults are incorporated into the Dendrobium Operation geological model. Of these, only two are located within the current mine plan:

- Elouera Fault - identified in the old Elouera underground workings, affecting the southern boundary of the area, displacement of up to 20 m.

- WW1 Fault - Small displacement fault (less than 5 m) identified in the northwest mains workings, between Areas 2 and 3. There are a number of features that have been interpreted as probably faulting but to a lesser degree of confidence.

As well as the four modelled faults, there are a number of interpreted fault structures for the Dendrobium Operation. Most of the predicted structures are understood to be minor and not expected to affect mining operation due to their limited throw.

At the Dendrobium Operation Tertiary igneous intrusions, in the form of sills and dykes, post-date the sedimentary strata in the area which hosts the coal. Sills and dykes have been identified through a combination of surface mapping, vertical drilling, in seam drilling, aeromagnetic survey and from mining.

Extensive igneous sills have been identified in the Wongawilli Seam and have had significant impacts on the extent of economic coal at the Dendrobium Operation.

Additionally, there is a swarm of dykes known as the Dendrobium Dyke Zone located directly north of Dendrobium Area 2. The Dendrobium Dyke Zone currently defines the northern limit of the Dendrobium Mine design for Areas 2 and 3.


Mining Methods

  • Longwall


Summary:

The Dendrobium Mine extracts coal from the Wongawilli Seam (also known as the No 3 Seam) within Consolidated Coal Lease (CCL) 768 using underground longwall mining methods. The Dendrobium Mine includes five approved underground mining domains, named Areas 1, 2, 3A, 3B and 3C. Longwall mining is currently being undertaken in Area 3B, with extraction largely complete in Areas 1, 2 and 3A.

The Dendrobium Mine primarily produces hard coking coal and is approved to produce up to 5.2 million tonnes per annum until 31 December 2030. The Dendrobium Mine Extension Project (the Project) proposes to extend the mine life at the Dendrobium Mine to 31 December 2041.

Illawarra Metallurgical Coal is seeking an Infrastructure Approval for the Dendrobium Mine Extension Project (the Project), which would support the extraction of approximately 31 million tonnes (Mt) of ROM coal from Area 5 (extraction of the Bulli Seam), within CCL 768. The life of the Project includes longwall mining in Area 5 up to approximately 31 December 2034, and ongoing use of existing surface facilities until 2041 (including for handling of Area 3C ROM coal).


Crushing and Grinding


Processing

  • Wash plant
  • Crush & Screen plant
  • Dewatering
  • Jig plant
  • Flotation
  • Dense media separation

Source: Subscription required

Summary:

Coal is transported from the underground workings to the Kemira Valley Coal Loading Facility via a conveyor network, reaching the surface via the Kemira Valley Tunnel. 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.

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

Processing of the ROM coal produced at Dendrobium Mine is undertaken at the DCPP. Coal wash is emplaced at the Appin Mine Coal Wash Emplacement Area (CWEA) or directed to beneficial reuse.

The Dendrobium CPP has the capacity to process up to 5.2 Mtpa of sized ROM coal.

The Dendrobium CPP incorporates:
- Heavy medium drum;
- Primary dense medium cyclone (“DMC”);
- Secondary DMC;
- Froth flotation cells;
- Drum filters;
- Horizontal belt ........


Production:

CommodityUnits2022202120202019201820172016
Coal (M/T) t  ......  Subscription required ^  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required2,735,1763,361,6053,285,777
All production numbers are expressed as clean coal. ^ Guidance / Forecast.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics202220212020201920182017
Coal tonnes mined  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required4,679,517 t3,691,454 t4,567,426 t
Reject  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required1,199,303 t956,278 t1,205,821 t
Raw coal annual capacity  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required5.2 Mt5.2 Mt5.2 Mt
Annual processing capacity  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required5.2 Mt
^ Guidance / Forecast.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Combined reserves/resources are reported under Illawarra Operation



Heavy Mobile Equipment as of March 10, 2015:
HME TypeModelSizeQuantity
Continuous Miner ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required
Feeder Breaker ....................... Subscription required
Shuttle car ....................... Subscription required 16 t ....................... Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Mine Management:

Job TitleNamePhoneProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jan 27, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Jun 30, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jan 27, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jan 27, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jan 27, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jan 27, 2022
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Staff:

Total WorkforceYear
Subscription required 2021
Subscription required 2020
Subscription required 2019

Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
Annual Report 2018
Annual Review 2018
Annual Report 2017
Annual Report 2017
Annual Report 2016
Annual Report 2015
Other 2015
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

News:

NewsDate
South32 tweaks mine extension to please the people December 9, 2021
South32 Dendrobium mine gets significant win December 6, 2021
South32 continues chasing Dendrobium mine approval October 18, 2021
South32 coal mine extension axed February 5, 2021
South32 edges closer to extending Dendrobium mine life by 25 years November 4, 2020

Aerial view:

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