Summary

Mine Type	Underground
Status	Active
Commodities	Coal (hard coking) Coal (thermal)
Mining Method	Longwall
Production Start	...
Mine Life	...
Snapshot	Kestrel is one of the world’s largest producing underground coking or metallurgical coal mines. In 2024, Kestrel Coal secured Queensland Government funding to launch a gas-to-electricity project aimed at cutting emissions, advancing mine decarbonisation, and supporting sustainable steelmaking and job creation. Kestrel Coal plans to extend its underground mine to access additional metallurgical coal using existing mining methods. In 2024, it began a voluntary Environmental Impact Study approved by Queensland authorities. The project will be jointly assessed under state and federal laws due to its potential environmental impacts. The extension is called the Kestrel West Mine Extension Project, as it extends into parts of Mineral Development Licence (MDL) 182, directly west of current operations. Kestrel West will utilise all existing infrastructure and allow optimised recovery of the coal resource.

Deposit type

• Sedimentary

Summary:

Kestrel is an underground longwall operation, encompassing the German Creek Seam.

The German Creek Formation comprises quartz sandstones, sandstone, carboneous siltstone and mudstone, coal and conglomerate (Veevers J., et al, 1969).

The Kestrel Mine lies on the western limb of the gently dipping Talagai Syncline, which plunges southwest between the Capella Block to the north west and the Comet Ridge to the east resulting in an overall regional dip of the stratigraphic sequence to the south and south-east.

At surface an isolated pocket of German Creek Formation (Pud) outcrops near the Kestrel Mine, with the remaining tenement area covered by unconformably overlying Cainozoic aged volcanics and sediments. Tertiary aged Minerva Hills Volcanics (Tr) comprising olivine basalt, trachy basalt, minor agglomerate and tuff are eroded and deposited over the Nogoa River fluvial system as undifferentiated (Cz) soil, sand and gravels and Quaternary aged alluviums (Qa).

The recent Tertiary sequence averages 65 m in thickness and ranges up to 110 m. As many as eight distinct basalt flows can be recognised in the Kestrel Mine area. These are often interbedded or underlain by clay and water bearing sand/gravel beds. The main Tertiary aquifers are the basalts and the basal sand/gravel beds. Airlift water flows of >30 l/s have been measured from these aquifers.

The upper German Creek Formation averages 120 m in thickness and is dominated by quartz lithic sandstones with minor siltstone interbeds and up to eight coal seams. The German Creek seam, which is the only seam suitable for underground mining, ranges in thickness from 1.8 to 4 m, with an average of 3 m.

The mine lease is bounded on the east by the San Michelle Boundary Fault, which trends north-south and is downthrown 50 to70 m to the west. This complex fault zone extends north into Gregory and probably south into the Ensham mine MDL 217 area. The remaining mining lease is divided by the north-south Ti- Tree Fault. The Ti-Tree is a high angle reverse fault downthrown 6 to 30 m to the east. This fault dies out to the north and has not been intersected by Crinum. The Western Area Drivage (WAD) has traversed the fault with three headings, in order to access the Kestrel West area. Minor faulting between these major fault zones has not impacted significantly in the current mining area. Between the faults the Permian strata are relatively undeformed with dips of 1° to 3°, increasing to 6° towards the subcrop.

No igneous intrusions have been intersected by drill holes or the current workings. In the current workings sedimentary or clastic dykes, most consisting of clayey sandstone, have been intersected. However these have not impeded significantly on the mining operation.

Within ML 1978 the depth of cover for the German Creek seam ranges from 80 to 400 m.

Mining Methods

- subscription is required.

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Processing

- subscription is required.

Commodity Production

Commodity	Units	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
Coal (metallurgical & thermal)	Mt	....	....	....	....	....	6.8
Coal (thermal)	kt							329	843	846	637
Coal (hard coking)	kt								4,252	4,077	3,450

Operational metrics

Personnel

Job Title	Name	Profile	Ref. Date
.......................	.......................		Jul 25, 2025
.......................	.......................		Jul 25, 2025
.......................	.......................		Jul 25, 2025
.......................	.......................		Jul 25, 2025
.......................	.......................		Jul 30, 2025
.......................	.......................		Jul 25, 2025

Employees	Contractors	Total Workforce	Year
......	......	......	2022
......	......	......	2021
......	......	......	2020