Australian producer QCoal will close part of its 1mn t/yr Cook Colliery coal mine — which mostly produces coking coal — in Queensland because of low coal prices coupled with high costs and royalties, the firm said today.
QCoal will close one of two coal-producing underground units at Cook Colliery. QCoal declined to comment on the specific production impact of its decision or a specific date for the closure.
Costs, royalties, and pricing pressures have made Cook Colliery's operations at current production levels are unsustainable, a QCoal spokesperson said. The company has contributed A$25mn ($17mn) in state royalties since March 2022 despite never making a profit, it added in a statement.
QCoal is the third company to announce downsizing plans in Queensland this week over similar financial issues. Japanese-Australian joint venture the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) will place its Saraji South mine into care and maintenance in November, it said on 17 September. UK-South African producer Anglo American announced plans to lay off hundreds of Queensland workers a day later.
Multiple coal producers have also signalled plans to move capital away from the state because of royalties and mineral prices over recent months. Some may have already started to do so. Australian coal producers — both thermal and coking coal firms — cut their nationwide exploration spending by 32pc on the year in April-June.
But Queensland's government is backing its royalty scheme, which taxes miners at marginal rates of 7-40pc of the value of coal. There will be no changes to the state's royalty regime, Queensland treasurer David Janetzki told Argus earlier this week.
