Overview -
The Ulan coal mines are located 310 km northwest of Sydney and 45 km northeast of Mudgee in the Western Coalfields of New South Wales, Australia.
Coal mining began at Lithgow in 1863 - the western coalfields extend to Ulan. In 1870, alluvial gold was discovered at Gulgong, which is located some 25 km southwest of the village of Ulan. A short lived gold rush ensued. At the turn of the 20th century the only thing stirring up the dust in Ulan were posses in search for outlaws that committed crimes against the 5 to 7 families that used to live in the bush.
At Ulan, coal mining first began in 1920s. The first underground operation started in 1942. Before 1980, pit ponies could still be seen hauling coal for a small open pit mine. The Ulan open pit and underground operations have been developed in the 1980s by White Mining; a river had to be diverted to make room for the pits.
Xstrata's 90% owned Ulan coal operations consist of open pit and longwall underground operations. The balance of interest is held by Mitsubishi Developments.
The open pit operation is considered to be the most productive and efficient Australian open pit operation. The open pit mine and railway facility are operated by Roche Mining.
The 24/7 operation consists of a drag line, a 400 m wide long wall miner, a coal handling and preparation plant, conveyors, a rail load out facility, a rail to port facility and an industrial water reuse scheme.
The combined operations are licensed for up to 10 million tones per year ROM coal. The mine produces high thermal coal destined for export (Mexico, Japan and Malaysia) or domestic use. Export is done through the Port of Newcastle.
Current expectations are for the underground operation to produce until 2020, while the open pit is to be closed in 2008. An application has been made as to increase coal production to 20 Mt per year and a 21 year lease. This involves a new underground mine and a further extension to the open pit.
The mining operations employ a total of 414 people, mostly locals.
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