Overview -
Mt. Owen coal operations are located 25 km northwest of Singleton in the Upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia.
Hunter Valley coal mining has its beginnings in the latest part of the XIX century, when most of the coal came from underground mining operations. Tourism and wine production are the other large contributors to the local economy.
The original Mt. Owen coal mine commenced operations in November 1993, and was slated to produce 1.4 million tonnes ROM coal per year.
The adjacent Swamp Creek Mine, subsequently known as the Ravensworth East Mine, was closed in 1991. In 2000, approval was obtained for developing a new 4.0 Mt per year coal mine. The mine was acquired by XStrata in 2002. It was then integrated into the Mt. Owen Complex in 2004.
The mine is a truck and shovel operation producing high-quality thermal and semi-soft coking coals mostly destined for export through the port of Newcastle to South-East Asian markets.
In December 2004, XStrata's Mt. Owen mining operations were granted a new Development Approval for an expansion to existing mining operations including an increase in ROM coal production and processing to 15 Mtpa and an increase of the mine life to 21 years.
The mine operates on a 24 hours/7 days a week schedule, and mining was contracted out to Thiess Contractors.
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