Overview -
Illawarra coal mining operations are located south of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia.
In 1796 coal seams have been discovered outcropping near Wollongong by William Clark and two other survivors of the wrecked Sydney Cove.
The first coal mine dates back to 1849 and the coal export port of Kembla was opened in 1883. Mt. Keira, region's most important coal mine, began commercial production in 1857 and closed over 130 years later in 1991. Pit ponies were still being used up to 1972 in Illawarra mines.
BHP Billiton owns and operates three high-volume hard-coking coal underground mines in the Illawarra and Wollondilly regions.
The mines - Appin/Appin West, West Cliff and Dendrobium - employ longwall underground mining methods and mine two coal seams located at depths between 180 m and 550 m.
Coal is transported by rail and road to two coal preparation plants where it is washed and blended prior of being exported overseas through the Port of Kembala or used by local steel producers.
In 2006-2007 Illawarra mining operations produced 8.89 million tones of clean coal
The air gas collected from mines is used to produce power - a world-first.
BHP states that it has an overriding commitment to health, safety, environmental responsibility and sustainable development.
A 2006 regional level evaluation report assessed that Illawarra mining operations produced $520 million in gross regional product and created 5,900 jobs that generated $278 million in household income.
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