Integra

Overview

Integra Coal Operations, underground and open-cut, are located 10km northwest of Singleton in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia.

The operations are comprised of an underground coal mine that produces coal by long-wall methods, and an open-cut mine.

Coal (thermal and metallurgical) from the mines is processed at a coal handling and processing plant with a capacity of 1.2 kt/h, loaded onto trains at a purpose-built rail loadout facility for transport to the port of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

Location

Integra Coal Operations, underground and open-cut, are located 10 km northwest of Singleton in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia.

New South Wales (NSW) is an eastern Australian state located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Sydney is the state's capital and is Australia's
most populous city (4.6 mill. in 2010).

Coal is the state's largest export product.

Geology & Mineralization

The Hunter coalfield is the largest coal-producing region in NSW, currently concentrated around the Singleton and Muswellbrook districts.

It produces the bulk of thermal coal for NSW’s electricity generation needs as well as for export markets.  The Hunter coal seams are mostly at shallow depths of less than 300 metres, enabling cost effective multi-seam, open cut mining operations.

The operations consists of an underground mine (Middle Liddell Seam), an open cut mine (South Open cut), a cleaning plant, and loading infrastructure. It produces coking coal (semi-hard coking coal, semi-soft coking coal) and thermal coal.

The Middlee Liddell Seam  ranges in height from 1.9 to 2.5 metres, and total underground resources exceed 200 million tonnes.

Mining & Operation

The operations comprise an underground coal mine that produces coal by longwall methods, and an open-cut pit. Coal from the mine is processed at a coal handling and processing plant (“CHPP”) with a capacity of 1,200 metric tons per hour, loaded onto trains at a purpose-built rail loadout facility for transport to the Port of Newcastle.

The South Opencut and Middle Liddell Seam mine were opened in 1999 and are projected to be exhausted in 2010 and 2014, respectively. The North Opencut mine is scheduled to open in 2008 and is expected to close in 2016. The Barrett and Hebden Seam mines, not yet in production, is expected to close in 2023. 

The underground and open cut mines have a nominal capacity of 4.49 Mtpa. The open pit mining operation produces 1.3 Mtpa semi-soft coking coal and 1.2 Mtpa thermal coal. The underground mining is carried by modern longwall methods and produces 2 Mtpa high fluidity semi-hard coking coal for bluechip international customers.

In 2011, Integra produced 531 kt thermal coal (open pit), and 934 kt met coal (open pit & underground).

Processing

After being washed and prepared for sale, the coal is loaded onto trains for transportation to the Port of Newcastle.

Environment & Community

Vale is committed to the development, healh and safety of their employees - Vale Australia employs over 1,300 full time and contract employees.