Mineralization involves three separate coal seams, being the Upper Glenroc, Lower Glenroc and Belmont seams.

Company will continue to extract coal using the approved open cut mining methods currently used at the site. This involves the extraction of three separate coal seams, being the Upper Glenroc, Lower Glenroc and Belmont Seams, within the open cut pit using haul back mining methods at a production rate of up to 1.5 Mtpa.

Overburden and interburden is generally blasted and then removed by excavators and haul trucks. Where the overburden overlying the uppermost coal seam is sufficiently weathered, it will be ripped and removed by scraper and/or pushed up by bulldozer and loaded into haul trucks by an excavator.

To remove the coal, benches are developed along the length of coal seams by blasting and removal of the overburden and interburden. As sufficient coal is exposed, it is ripped, excavated and transported to the ROM coal pad within the on-site coal handling and processing area.

Coal Processing and Transport.
The on-site coal handling and processing area covers approximately three hectares and comprises the following key components:
- ROM coal stockpile area/pad;
- Product coal stockpile area/pad;
- Conveyors;
- Coal loading hopper;
- Primary crusher;
- Size reduction screen; and
- Product bin and batch weight system.

The mined coal is transferred by haul truck to the coal handling and processing area located immediately south of the limit of the open cut pit for crushing, screening and loading into trucks for transport off-site to the Whitehaven CHPP. The on-site coal handing and processing area has the capacity to store up to 150,000 tonnes of ROM coal in stockpiles, with a smaller area designated to the stockpiling of crushed coal up to 30,000 tonnes.

ROM coal is either loaded directly into the coal loading hopper or placed in one of several ROM coal stockpiles (representing different quality co ........