Coal in Australia

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Open cut coal mine in the Hunter valley

Coal is mined in every state of Australia. The largest black coal resources occur mainly in Queensland and New South Wales.[1] About 70% of coal mined in Australia is exported, mostly to eastern Asia,[2] and of the balance most is used in electricity generation. In 2019-20 Australia exported 390 Mt of coal (177 Mt metallurgical coal and 213 Mt thermal coal) and was the world's largest exporter of metallurgical coal and second largest exporter of thermal coal.[3]

Premier coal mine in Western Australia, 2022
Maules Creek coal mine, 2014

Coal mining in Australia has been criticized,[4][5] due to carbon dioxide emissions during combustion. This criticism is primarily directed at thermal coal, for its connection to coal-fired power stations as a major source of carbon dioxide emissions, and the link to climate change in Australia and worldwide.[6] Coal was responsible for 30% (164 million tonnes) of Australia's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, not counting methane and export coal, in 2019.[7] Coal as a fuel was responsible for 41% (160 million tonnes) of carbon dioxide emissions in Australia in 2020.[7]

The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, which followed the draft report in the Garnaut Climate Change Review, placed a price on carbon emissions through a reducing cap and trade emissions trading scheme and incentivised against carbon pollution temporarily, before it was revoked in 2014. Despite a target to reduce GHG emissions Australia continues to open new coal mines.[8]

Forms of coal

Australian coal is either high-quality bituminous coal (black coal) or lower-quality lignite (brown coal).[9]

Bituminous coal is mined in Queensland and New South Wales, and is used for both domestic power generation and for export. It is mined underground or open-cut before being transported by rail to power stations or export shipping terminals.[10][11]

Lignite is mined in Victoria and South Australia,[12] and is of lower quality due to a lower thermal value largely caused by a high water content.[13] Ash content varies significantly but some Australian lignite have relatively low ash content.[14] In 2013 coal from three open cut lignite coal mines in Victoria is used for baseload power generation.[12]

History

Australian Energy resources and major export ports as of 2008
Full-time employment in coal mining since 1984 (thousands of people)
Australian coal production (red) and exports (black), 1980–2012

Australian coal was first discovered in New South Wales by shipwreck survivors in August 1797, at Coalcliff, north of Wollongong. George Bass discovered coal soon after in the cliffs at Newcastle off of Point Solander.[15][16] Coal exports first left Newcastle in 1799,[17] with it being mined by convicts. Shipments left for India, marking Australia's first commodity export.[18] Mining in the area was initially small scale and used in domestic heating.[19]

In Queensland coal mining began near Ipswich in 1825.[20] The following year coal was discovered at Cape Paterson in Victoria.[20] It wasn't until the 1850s that the deposits were mined, however it wasn't enough to sustain Victorian communities.[21] Coal was discovered in Tasmania at Plunkett Point in 1833.[22] In Western Australia the first coal deposits were discovered at Irwin River at what is known as the Coalseam Conservation Park in 1846.[20]

By the 1900s coal had become integral to the economy as it was used in locomotives on railways and in steam mills cutting logs and grinding wheat.[19] In New South Wales development was particularly influenced by coal during the 20th century.[23] During the 1940s Australian coal mines experienced significant strikes.[19] The 1949 Australian coal strike lasted for seven weeks. The Joint Coal Board was formed to aid in the resolution of workers' disputes. Before WWII underground mines dominated. After WWII, Australia began exporting coking coal to Japan to aid in their production of steel.[19] Exports to South Korea and Taiwan soon followed. Australia became the number one coal exporter in 1984.[24] By 1986 Australia was supplying around half of all its exports to Japan.[24] As the Bowen Basin Coalfields were developed, open-cut mines became more common.[19] From the 1980s onwards the ratio of thermal coal exported to Asia increased significantly.[19] High-grade coking coal extracted from the Illawarra region has supported a steel and steel products market with exports leaving via Port Kembla harbour.[18] An anti-coal movement is a recent historical development.[23]

Production, exports and reserves

Australian coal and coke quarterly exports ($Millions) since 1960

In 2016, Australia was the biggest net exporter of coal, with 32% of global exports (389 Mt out of 1,213 Mt total). It was the fourth-highest producer with 6.9% of global production (503 Mt out of 7,269 Mt total). 77% of production was exported (389 Mt out of 503 Mt total).[25]

Major export markets for Australian coal

Coal loading facilities at Newscastle, 1901

Australia exports the largest share of coal of any nation, at 54% of the total.[26] Exports of coal account for 1% of national revenue, with a total value of A$55 billion in 2020.[27]

Major Export Markets For Australian Coal (2019)[28]
Country/Area Million Tons Coking Million Tons Steaming Million Tons Total Rank % of exports
Japan 35.8 81.0 116.8 1 30.0
China 39.6 49.8 89.4 2 23.1
India 45.3 4.8 50.1 3 13.0
Other 30.3 19.5 49.8 4 12.9
Korea (ROK) 17.8 30.1 47.9 5 12.4
Taiwan 10.0 22.5 32.5 6 8.4
Total 178.8 207.7 386.5

Major coal export ports

The Port of Newcastle, New South Wales, is the world's largest and most efficient coal handling operation through its two terminals: Carrington and Kooragang. Australia has nine major coal-export ports,[29] including:

Major Australian Coal Export Ports
Port State Million Tons
2009 		Million Tons
2008
Newcastle[30] NSW 92.8 91.4
Hay Point[31] QLD 82.4 80.4
Gladstone[32] QLD 56.2 54.1
Abbot Point[31] QLD 14.4 12.5
Port Kembla[33] NSW 13.7 13.3
Brisbane[32] QLD 6.3 5.5
Total 265.8 257.2

Major coal mining companies

Main article: Coal companies of Australia

Future planned coal mining

Several new coal mines are planned for development in Australia. This includes Olive Downs mine, to be operated by Pembroke Resources, near Coppabella, Queensland.[34] In 2021, the federal government agreed to loan the project $175 million (AUS) to begin the first stages of its development.[35] In April 2022, the construction of the mine commenced. Production is expected to begin in 2023.[36]

Divestment from coal

Several mines have announced plans to wind-down operations in coal within set timeframes, alongside planned closures of coal power plants in Australia. This includes Werris Creek (2025).[37]

In 2016 Glencore announced that Tahmoor Complex would be closed by 2019. [38] However, Glencore later sold the mine to SIMEC in 2018,[39][40] who still operate it.

BHP planned to sell the Mt Arthur mine in 2022, however failed to attract a viable offer, and decided to continue operations there until financial year 2030.[41]

In August 2022 BHP completed its sale of the BHP Mitsui Coal to Stanmore Resources.[42]

Banks such as Westpac have introduced restrictions on lending for new thermal coal mines, including a limit of 6300 kilocalories per kilogram for new projects.[43]

Environmental impacts

Main article: Environmental effects of coal
September 2019 climate strike in Tumbarumba, Australia

Both underground and open-cut mines generate significant environmental impacts, including modified topography, soil erosion, water pollution, air pollution and acid water drainage.[44] The Australian community is understandably concerned about any mining activity that could place private or public property or valuable landscapes at risk.[45] The coal industry claims however that extensive rehabilitation of areas mined helps to ensure that land capability, after coal mining, meets agreed and appropriate standards.[46]

Coal is the principal fossil fuel used in power generation not only in Australia but in many other countries. Links between coal mining, coal burning, and climate change are being discussed widely in Australia.[47][48]

On 27 November 2006 the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales judge Justice Nicola Pain made the decision to set aside the Director-General's acceptance of the Environmental Assessment for the Anvil Hill coal mine,[49] on the grounds that it did not include a comprehensive greenhouse gas assessment, even though the proposed mining of coal was for export. However, on 7 June 2007 the planning minister for NSW Frank Sartor reversed this decision and approved the mine, attaching a list of 80 conditions to the mines operation including conservation offsets.[50]

Protests against coal

One of the first protests against coal development occurred to the south of Sydney in the early 1970s. Clutha Development wanted to build a new coal loading facility at Coalcliff.[51] Coal was to be stored in heaps along the coast. Local activist, Judy Gjedsted, organised protests which successfully ended the proposal.[51]

In November 2021, anti-coal protestors led by Blockade Australia disrupted activity at the world’s largest coal terminal, the Port of Newcastle, by abseilling from equipment and obstructing railway tracks. The protests lasted for 10 days and 17 people were arrested.[52][53]

The Carmichael mine run by Adani Group, planned since 2012 and opened in 2021, drew national and international opposition, both from climate activists and traditional owners.[54][55] In August 2019, the government extinguished 1,385 hectares of Wangan and Jaggalingou native title in order to grant Adani title to the land.[56] Protestor activity at the mine has included 40 people blocking the entrance of the mine, with two chaining themselves to a drum of reinforced concrete.[57]

Environmental regulation of coal mining

The Australian commonwealth government is responsible for making policy on off-shore exploration of coal and resources, while the governments of the states and territories are responsible for policy on onshore exploration.[58]

Commonwealth law

The main Commonwealth environmental laws potentially applicable to coal mining are the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and the Clean Energy Act 2011. The EPBC Act is triggered if a proposed action is likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance, for example federally listed threatened species and groundwater impacts.[59]

State laws

New South Wales

Relevant laws are mining law, land use planning law, biodiversity law and water law.

Pollution law

Coal mining requires a pollution control ('environment protection') licence under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) if it exceeds the following thresholds set out in Schedule 1 of the Act: if it is mining, processing or handling of coal (including tailings and chitter) at underground mines or open cut mines and (a) it has a capacity to produce more than 500 tonnes of coal per day, or (b) it has disturbed, is disturbing or will disturb a total surface area of more than 4 hectares of land by: (i) clearing or excavating, or (ii) constructing dams, ponds, drains, roads, railways or conveyors, or (iii) storing or depositing overburden or coal (including tailings and chitter).[60]

Queensland

In March, 2020, the Queensland Resources Council introduced safety protocols to promote the health of coal mine workers amidst the international spread of COVID-19. These included improvements to social distancing of workers, disallowing visitors from the public to enter the sites and checking the temperature of workers at mine site entries.[61]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Coal". Australian government Geoscience Australia. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Coal". Government of South Australia Energy Mining. March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  3. ^ Australian Government (2020). Resources and Energy Quarterly December 2020 (PDF). pp. 15, 41, 52.
  4. ^ The Greens NSW (July 2011), "Coal and Coal Seam Gas Policy". Archived from the original on 5 February 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  5. ^ Greens Queensland. (13 April 2010). Upper Hunter Valley coal mining shows dangers for Queensland Archived 16 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Media Release. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  6. ^ Preston, B.L. and Jones, R.N Climate Change Impacts on Australia and the Benefits of Early Action to Reduce Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Archived 25 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine. CSIRO. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  7. ^ a b Ritchie, Hannah; Roser, Max (11 May 2020). "CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions". Our World in Data.
  8. ^ "Australia passes a law to reduce emissions, at last". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Coal". Data & Publications. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
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  12. ^ a b Geoscience Australia (2013). "Coal - Geoscience Australia". Australia's Mineral Resource Assessment 2013. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Lignite/ Brown Coal". Victoria State Government. Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, Victoria, Australia. 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2019. ...its high moisture content - which ranges from 48-70 per cent - reduces its effective energy content
  14. ^ Durie, R. "THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AUSTRALIAN COALS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS IN COAL LIQUEFACTION" (PDF). R.W. Miller & Co. Pty. Ltd. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2019. These coals differ from the Tertiary brown coals of North America in that they have a much lower ash yield...
  15. ^ Knibbs (1910). "Non-Metallic Minerals". Official Year Book of the Commonwealth of Australia No. 3 1910. Collins Street, Melbourne: McCarron, Bird & Co. p. 515.
  16. ^ Power, Frederick (1912). "Chapter IV, New South Wales". Coalfields & Collieries of Australia. Sydney: Critchley Parker. p. 60.
  17. ^ Carabott, Mike (28 March 2022). "The historical role of coal in Australia and the National Energy Grid". Leading Edge Energy. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Mining History". NSW Minerals Council. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  19. ^ a b c d e f Quince, Annabelle (1 October 2015). "What future for coal, a crucial part of Australian history?". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  20. ^ a b c "Coal". Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  21. ^ "Coal - Powering Victoria". Earth Resources. Government of Victoria. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  22. ^ "History". Coal Mining History Site. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  23. ^ a b Bosca, Hannah Della; Gillespie, Josephine (September 2018). "The coal story: Generational coal mining communities and strategies of energy transition in Australia". Energy Policy. 120: 734–740. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.032. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  24. ^ a b Owen, A.D. (April 1988). "Australia's role as an energy exporter: Status and prospects". Energy Policy. 16 (2): 131–151. doi:10.1016/0301-4215(88)90121-8. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  25. ^ IEA Key World Energy Statistics 2017 (PDF). International Energy Agency. 2017. p. 17. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2018.
  26. ^ "Coal Mining in Australia". PIMS Group. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Climate change: Why Australia refuses to give up coal". BBC News. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  28. ^ "Coal in India 2019" (PDF). Australia Office of the Chief Economist. 2019. p. 51. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  29. ^ Minerals Council of Australia, Australia's Coal Industry - Ports and Transport
  30. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  31. ^ a b http://www.transport.qld.gov.au/resources/file/eb3e0c4a36b1d25/Pdf_port_of_abbot_point_cape_flattery.pdf[permanent dead link]
  32. ^ a b http://www.transport.qld.gov.au/resources/file/eb3dff4a36695d1/Pdf_coal_metals.pdf[permanent dead link]
  33. ^ Trade & Cargo. Port Kembla Port Corporation. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  34. ^ Pembroke Resources, "Olive Downs Coking Coal Complex", accessed 13 August 2019.
  35. ^ Federal Government to loan Olive Downs coal mine project near Moranbah $175m, ABC News, 1 July 2021
  36. ^ Jessica Casey,Pembroke Resources Breaks Ground at Olive Downs, World Coal, April 8, 2022
  37. ^ "Australian coal output to remain flat in 2022, mainly due to scheduled closures". Mining Technology. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  38. ^ "Glencore to close Tahmoor coal mine". Deutsche Welle. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  39. ^ Tahmoor SIMEC Group
  40. ^ Creagh, Ben (3 January 2018). "Glencore offloads Tahmoor coal mine to GFG Alliance". Australian Mining. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  41. ^ "BHP Abandons Thermal Coal Exit as Investors and Prices Shift". Bloomsberg. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  42. ^ "BHP Abandons Thermal Coal Exit as Investors and Prices Shift". Australian Mining. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  43. ^ "Westpac rules out Adani Carmichael coal loan". The Australian Financial Review. The Australian Financial Review. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  44. ^ De Valck, J., Williams, G., & Kuik, S. (2021). Does coal mining benefit local communities in the long run? A sustainability perspective on regional Queensland, Australia. Resources Policy, 71, 102009. doi:10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.10
  45. ^ "Australian cowboys, farmers rally against coal and gas mining". Deutsche Welle. Deutsche Welle. 24 March 2018. Archived from the original on 29 March 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  46. ^ Reducing the Environmental Impacts of Coal Mining Archived 7 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  47. ^ (1 December 2006). Australian coal mine blocked over climate impact. New Scientist. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  48. ^ Scott Bevan (2 November 2006). "Climate concerns fuel coal mine opposition campaign". 7:30 Report. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  49. ^ "Australian Judge Blocks Coal Mine on Climate Grounds". Steel Guru. 3 December 2006. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  50. ^ "NSW Govt approves Anvil Hill coal mine". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 June 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  51. ^ a b Simon Leo, Brown; Craney, Anna (3 December 2020). "The Australian anti-coal campaign that took on 'the world's richest man' and won". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  52. ^ "Protesters disrupt the world's largest coal port: 'This is us responding to the climate crisis'". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  53. ^ "Coal export protesters blasted by Barnaby Joyce with claims of $60 million lost in exports in past 10 days". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  54. ^ "Opponents fume as Adani celebrates first coal export from Carmichael Mine". ABC News. 29 December 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  55. ^ "Adani is poised to ship its first coal – is this failure for Australia's defining climate campaign?". the Guardian. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  56. ^ "Queensland extinguishes native title over Indigenous land to make way for Adani coalmine". the Guardian. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  57. ^ "Adani protesters charged after 'chaining themselves to concrete drum'". www.9news.com.au. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  58. ^ "Legislation, regulations and guidelines". 21 March 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  59. ^ "Coal and coal seam gas - Regulation". Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  60. ^ Protection Of The Environment Operations Act 1997 - Schedule 1. New South Wales Consolidated Acts. AustLII. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  61. ^ "Qld coal mining companies swing into action on COVID-19". www.miningmonthly.com. 21 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.

External links

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