Bowen Coking Coal has commenced mining at Bluff Mine and has inked a three year mining services contract with HSE Mining.
The company acquired the mothballed Bluff Mine in Queensland in November 2021. It was operating until December 2020 when it was placed on care and maintenance due to falling coal prices.
The open cut mine is located in the southern Bowen Basin, near the township of Bluff and 20km east of Blackwater.
“This is a very proud moment for Bowen”, said Managing Director and CEO, Mr Gerhard Redelinghuys in an ASX Announcement.
“The commencement of coal mining at Bluff is a monumental move for the Company as we take the major step from explorer to becoming Australia’s next multi-mine coal producer. It is also the culmination of many months of hard work from all involved and I want to thank all our stakeholders for their support, especially the Bowen Board, Management and staff who made this possible”.
Bluff Mine hosts a 13.5 million tonne (Mt) JORC Resource of Ultra Low Volatile PCI (ULVPCI) coal and is expected to be mined over four to six years to supply the global steel industry.
According to the ASX Announcement, a steady-state Run-of-Mine (ROM) coal production of 80kt to 100kt per month is targeted from July 2022.
HSE has been selected to operate the Bluff mine, using their own equipment, staff, systems and procedures under the strategic direction of Bowen. The agreement contains customary terms and conditions for coal mining contracts and can be extended up to 4 years.
”HSE congratulates BCC on the redevelopment of the Bluff Coal Project and very much looks forward to working with the BCC team over the coming years,” said Pat Kelly, Chief Operating Officer of HSE.
