The resource coal targeted for extraction at Ravensworth Operations includes seams of the Foybrook and Burnamwood Formations, which form part of the Wittingham Coal Measures. The coal seams targeted extend from the shallow Broonie Seams, through the Bayswater, Lemington, Pikes Gully, Arties, Liddell and Barrett Seams, to the Hebden Seam. The strata dips gently (<5 degrees) to the south-east within the mine towards the Bayswater Syncline and flattens to the south-west around the Ravensworth North monocline. A thin igneous dyke runs through the pit area on a north-easterly orientation and intersects a small volcanic plug in the north of the pit area. This volcanic breccia has been well defined by drilling.

Coal is extracted from eight seam groups. In stratigraphical order, those seams are the Broonies (BR1-10), the Bayswater (BAY1-2), the Upper Lemingtons (ULM1-9), the Lower Lemingtons (LLM1-12), the Pikes Gully (UPG1-5 and the LPG), the Arties (UAR1-4 and LAR1-2), the Liddell (ULD1-4, MLD1-2 and LLD1-3 and the Barrett (BAR1-8). The seams are divided into defined plies commonly separated by mudstone and to a lesser extent sandstone.

Ravensworth North is the active mine for Ravensworth Open Cut (ROC).

Mining is currently undertaken using truck and shovel methods, although Ravensworth Operations Pty Limited (ROPL) has approval to operate a dragline, if required.

Mining Process
Areas planned for mining are surveyed and suitable topsoil is stripped and made available for rehabilitation purposes.

Overburden to the first seam and subsequently each section of inter-burden between the coal seams is drilled and blasted or ripped by bulldozer. It is then loaded by shovel, excavator or loader into trucks which haul the material to emplacement areas at designated areas of the mine.

Each of the coal seams is cleaned and then loaded by excavator or front-end loader into trucks and transported to the run-of-mine facilities. From here the coal is conveyed to Ravensworth Coal Handling Preparation Plant (RCHPP) for processing before export. At times a small proportion of the coal is supplied to the AGL Macquarie power generation facilities.

The rehabilitation process includes the shaping of the overburden emplacement areas, ripping and rock raking, the placement or preparation of a sowing medium, installation of drainage structures, the application of seed varieties and the delineation of these areas to restrict access.

ROM coal extracted from Ravensworth North is either stockpiled for future processing or placed directly into the enclosed ROM coal hopper. From this point, coal is processed in primary and secondary sizing stations. Coal destined for the export markets is transferred via an overland conveyor to the Raw Coal Stockpile adjacent to a tertiary sizing station, where it is further sized prior to being transferred to the Ravensworth Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (RCHPP) by overland conveyor. Dozers push the coal into reclaim tunnels from the stockpile, and conveyors transport the coal directly to the RCHPP for washing, or the ROM surge bin, which feeds into the plant, or the RCT bins, which feed directly into the train loader for unwashed (bypass) coal. Ravensworth Operations coal may be handled on conveyors at a rate of up to 3,500 tph.

Ravensworth North produces thermal and semi-soft coking coal with a majority of coal supplying the export markets and some domestic. The the ........