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Australia

Kestrel Mine

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Overview

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Coal (hard coking)
  • Coal (thermal)
Mining Method
  • Longwall
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SnapshotKestrel extracts metallurgical coal from the German Creek coking coal seam, via the underground longwall mining method. The metallurgical coal produced at Kestrel is of high quality and is valued for its properties in steel production.

The Queensland Government is investing in a new gas-to-electricity power project at the Kestrel coal mine as part of its $520 million Low Emissions Investment Partnerships (LEIP) program.

The project will expand the underground mine’s drainage system to capture more fugitive gas, preventing it from being released into the atmosphere. This has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by more than one million tonnes over eight years.

A 30-megawatt power station will built at the Kestrel mine, north of Emerald, and will generate enough electricity to power more than 40,000 homes.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Mitsui Investment Pty Ltd. 20 % Indirect
PT Adaro Energy Tbk 38.4 % Indirect
EMR Capital Group 41.6 % Indirect
Kestrel Coal Resources Pty Ltd. (operator) 80 % Direct
EMR Capital Ltd (EMR) acquired Rio Tinto’s 80% interest in the Kestrel Coal Mine (Kestrel) in August 2018 to jointly manage and operate Kestrel’s mine. Upon completion of the deal, ownership stakes in Kestrel consisted of Kestrel Coal Resources Pty Ltd (80%) and Mitsui Coal Australia (20%). Kestrel Coal Resources Pty Ltd is a joint venture company formed by EMR (52%) and PT Adaro Energy Tbk (48%).

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.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Production

CommodityUnits202320222021202020192018201720162015
Coal (metallurgical & thermal) Mt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe6.8
Coal (thermal) kt 329843846637
Coal (hard coking) kt 4,2524,0773,450
All production numbers are expressed as clean coal.

Operational metrics

Metrics2019
Coal tonnes mined 9,265 kt

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Financials

Units20232022202120202019
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Pre-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 508.5  
After-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 93.2  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

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EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
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Aerial view:

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