The Mt Owen Complex (MOC) is located at Hebden, approximately 20 km north-west of Singleton in the Upper Hunter Valley of NSW.

Mt Owen is situated between two regional thrust faults, the Hunter Thrust and the Hebden Thrust that limit the lateral extent of the coal seams. Seam dips vary throughout the deposit, with dips being steep (up to 45 º ) in the areas near the Hunter and Hebden Thrusts where parallel thrusts dislocate the seam by up to 40 metres.

Up to 22 mineable coal intervals are recognised, ranging in thickness from 0.2 metre to 10 metres, within a stratigraphic interval of approximately 350 metres, the coal seams comprise a total thickness of approximately 55 metres.

The seams for which there is potential for economic extraction at Mt Owen include the Lemington Seams, Pikes Gully Seams, Arties Seams, Upper Liddell Seams, Middle Liddell Seams, Lower Liddell Seams, Barrett Seams, Upper Hebden Seams and the Lower Hebden Seams.

The mineable coal seams at Ravensworth East vary in thickness from 0.3 metres to 8.5 metres, and include the Ravensworth and Bayswater seams over a stratigraphic interval of approximately 130 metres (maximum) from the surface. These seams form part of the Jerry's Plains Sub-Group of the Whittingham Coal Measures.

Mineable coal seams at Glendell range in thickness from 0.3m to 3.5m including Pikes Gully, Arties, Upper Liddell, Middle Liddell, Lower Liddell and Barrett seams.

Similar mining methods are employed across the Mt Owen Complex. Mining is currently carried out by large excavators and haul trucks supported by ancillary equipment including water carts, dozers, graders, fuel and service carts, loaders and drills.

The sequence of mining involves clearing of vegetation and topsoil, drilling and blasting of overburden, followed by the excavation and haulage of overburden from a series of sequential mining blocks to the emplacement areas (see Figure left). The coal that is uncovered is then hauled to the Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP) for processing. The clean coal is conveyed to the product stockpile before being transported by rail for approximately 120 kilometres to the port of Newcastle for export.

Blasting is currently restricted to the hours of 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) and 9.00 am to 6.00 pm daylight saving time (DST) Monday to Saturday. Blasting is restricted during adverse meteorological conditions to minimize potential impacts on private neighbouring residents. Blasted overburden is excavated in a series of horizontal 5-m benches (lifts) and loaded into rear dump trucks for transportation to the overburden emplacement areas. In-pit dumping of overburden is optimized where ever possible. Material that cannot be accommodated in-pit is hauled to the ex-pit emplacement areas.

Exposed coal is mined by excavators into rear dump trucks for transportation, via internal haul roads to the Run of Mine (ROM) coal receival point adjacent to the CHPP. As the Mt Owen Complex is designed to operate on a 'just- in-time' basis, the large majority of the ROM coal is directly fed to the CHPP without stockpiling.

The Mount Owen Complex (MOC) comprises of:
- Mt Owen Open Cut Mine (MTO), including the MOC Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP);
- Glendell Open Cut Mine (Glendell);
- Ravensworth East Open Cut Mine (Ravensworth East).

Mt Owen Mine produces thermal and semi-soft coking coal for supply to the export markets. The thermal coal product is highly volatile with strong combustion characteristics and has been widely used for power generation as well as for general industrial use. Semi-soft coking coal produced by Mt Owen is used by steel mills for pulverized coal injection and as a component in the coke blend. The coal is low in ash and sulphur with attractive coking properties.

Ravensworth East Mine produces thermal coal for supply to domestic and export markets.

Up to 15Mtpa of Run of Mine (ROM) coal will be received and processed at Mt Owen Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP). With an estimated 10Mtpa coming from Mt Owen and 5 ........