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Emerald Shire

The coal mining industry continues to underpin the economic development of the Emerald Shire through returned revenue derived from wages and salaries, subcontracts, corporate purchasing and local government levies and rates. The town of Emerald has been enhanced by strong urban growth associated with the first mining developments which set somewhat of a precedent for future mining operations in the area. These initial developments include Gregory (1979), Gordonstone (1991), Ensham (1993), Crinum (1994), and Kestrel (1999) coal mines. The Emerald Shire has since experienced outstanding growth from the introduction of new mining operations and further expansion to existing mines.

Coal deposits in the Emerald mining district are extracted by a combination of underground and open-cut technologies to produce around 68 million tonnes of coal annually for export. The coal types are coking (steel) and thermal (energy).

 

Coal Mining

The Bowen Basin

The Bowen Basin is located in the state of Queensland and contains the largest coal reserve in Australia. This major coal producing region holds one of the world’s largest deposits of bituminous coal.

The Basin contains much of the known Permian coal resources in Queensland including virtually all of the known mineable prime coking coal.
The Bowen Basin is an area of coal reserves and mining related communities that extends over 60,000 square kilometres of Central Queensland, from the town of Collinsville in the north to Theodore in the south.

Within the Bowen Basin there are 15 communities, with a combined total population of over 65,000 that are dependent or impacted by coal mining services (to varying degrees). Over the last decade, these communities have experienced major social and demographic changes as a result of industry restructures, work practice changes and technological advances.

This is the largest coal reserve in Australia and the 34 operational coal mines extract over 100 million tonnes annually. This represents some 83% of the State of Queensland’s coal production - its most important export commodity.