Blair Athol

Overview

Blair Athol Mine, located 20 km north west of Clermont in central Queensland, supplies customers in Asia and Europe with up to 12 million tonnes of thermal coal per annum.

The coal deposit was originally discovered on the site in 1864 and was first mined in 1890. Between 1920 and 1945 coal was mined with an underground method, which is still visible today.   The current open cut operation started in 1984.

Blair Athol Mine is due to close in 2016 when its reserves are completely mined out. Its stockpile and train facilities will be used by the Clermont Mine, currently under construction.

Rio Tinto Coal Australia manages the operation on behalf of the joint venture partners - Queensland Coal Pty Limited (57.2 per cent), Leichhardt Coal Pty Limited (31.4 per cent), J-Power Australia Pty. Ltd. (8 per cent) and J.C.D Australia Pty. Ltd. (3.4 per cent).

Location

The Blair Athol mine, located in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland, 25 km north-west of the township of Clermont.

Queensland - the 'sunshine state' -  is Australia's second-largest and third most populous state, located in the northeast of the country. To the east the state is bordered by the Coral Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

Coal mining is a major contributor to the state's economy. The state also has significant coal seam gas, natural gas and bauxite deposits.

Agriculture and tourism are other staples of the Queensland economy.

Geology and Mineralization

 The Blair Athol mine, located in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland, Australia 25 km north-west of the township of Clermont.

The coal deposit is part of the Wolfgang Basin - located on the western side of the Bowen Basin - which is an important Permian coal basin that is 600 km long and 250 km wide. The major seam, named Wolfang, constitutes 90 per cent of the deposits' reserves and has an average thickness of 45 metres.

Mining & Operation

Blair Athol Mine takes its name from the historic grazing property, Blair Athol Station, named by pastoralist James McLaren, in honour of his Scottish birthplace. Coal was originally discovered on the site in 1864, however it was a century later that the true worth of the resource was realised, with the first commercial shipments of coal despatched in May 1984. Blair Athol Mine is due to close in 2015 when its reserves are completely mined out. Its stockpile and train facilities will be used by the Clermont Mine, currently under construction.

There are four coal seams at Blair Athol which are mined, numered from top to bottom. No 1 seam is about 7.5m thick and is already completely mined. No 2 seam averages only 1.2m in thickness and is presently not mined. At the moment all coal is mined from No 3 seam. It averages 29m in thickness, with a maximum thickness of 32 metres in the south-west. This is an extremely thick seam, as most coal mines have seams of five metres or less. It makes the mine very productive and profitable. Seam No 4 is broader than any seam above and between three and five metres thick

Blair Athol Mine is an open cut mine, using a dragline truck and shovel method. 217 employees (as at 31 December 2008) work in shifts to keep the mine operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The coal deposit is part of theBowenBasin, a significant Permian coal basin stretching 600km long and 250km wide.

In 2009 the mine production reached a peak of 11.3 million tonnes of thermal coal. After being washed and prepared for sale, the coal is loaded onto trains for transportation 240km to the Dalrymple Bay Coal terminal where it is shipped to international customers.

Blair Athol Mine had marketable reserves of 29 million tonnes as at 31 December 2008. Read more about our products.

Blair Athol Mine takes its name from the historic grazing property, Blair Athol Station, named by pastoralist James McLaren, in honour of his Scottish birthplace. Coal was originally discovered on the site in 1864, however it was a century later that the true worth of the resource was realised, with the first commercial shipments of coal despatched in May 1984. Blair Athol Mine is due to close in 2015 when its reserves are completely mined out. Its stockpile and train facilities will be used by Rio Tinto's neighboring Clermont Mine.

There are four coal seams at Blair Athol which are mined, numered from top to bottom. No 1 seam is about 7.5m thick and is already completely mined. No 2 seam averages only 1.2m in thickness and is presently not mined. At the moment all coal is mined from No 3 seam. It averages 29m in thickness, with a maximum thickness of 32 metres in the south-west. This is an extremely thick seam, as most coal mines have seams of five metres or less. It makes the mine very productive and profitable. Seam No 4 is broader than any seam above and between three and five metres thick.

Processing

In 2011, Blair Athol mine produced 2.8 million tonnes of thermal coal. The mine is ramping production down towards closure.

The freshwater use per tonne of product coal is estimated at 121 litres of which about 20% is recycled. Coal is being washed and then loaded onto trains and transported over 280 km to the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal from where it is shipped to international customers.

Environment & Community

Blair Athol Mine seeks to be more than just a major source of local employment and economic growth, rather to work in partnership with the local community. Through its community relations programme, Rio Tinto Coal Australia is working to help provide positive long term outcomes for the Clermont region.

The Clermont Community Consultative Committee (CCC) includes members of the Clermont community and representatives from Rio Tinto Coal Australia. The group meets quarterly to discuss the Clermont and Blair Athol mines. CCC documents including meeting minutes, key points from meetings and the CCC Charter can be found in the Blair Athol Mine library.

In 2011 some 42 ha land were rehabilitated and a total of 222 ha disturbed. The same year there were no community complaints.

Also in 2011, about $9 million worth of supplies were acquired from local businesses.