EVEN by Hunter Region standards, Mount Arthur Coal is a giant of an operation, with approval to produce 32 million tonnes of run-of-mine coal each year from its various open-cut pits.
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It has approval for an underground mine, which has not operated.
Last year, Mount Arthur extracted 25.2 million tonnes of run-of-mine coal, which resulted in saleable production of 19.7 million tonnes.
The existing Mount Arthur operation has various components including the Bayswater colliery, which began open-cut mining in 1968.
In 1998, the NSW government ran a tender to develop the Mount Arthur North lease to supply 3 million tonnes of domestic coal a year for five years. Mining began in 2001 with approval to mine 15 million tonnes a year. In 2015, Mount Arthur supplied 1.2 million tonnes of coal to Bayswater power station, with the remaining 18.7 million tonnes exported to Asia and Europe from the port of Newcastle.
Mount Arthur’s coal is extracted by truck and shovel.
The mine has approval to operate until 2026.