Anglo American Grosvenor Coal Mine Project, Queensland

Operators: Anglo American

Location:    Moranbah

Cost: $1.7bn

Timeframe:      First production expected to start in 2013.  Construction will commence immediately with longwall mining to begin in 2016, in an operation similar to its existing Moranbah North mine.

Employment:  1,000 – combination of construction and operational roles

Status:  The Grosvenor mine represents a significant expansion of Anglo American’s Queensland operations.  Federal approval for the project was awarded in June.  The mine is expected to produce upto 7 mln tonnes a year coking coal.  Queensland Government requires Anglo American to build homes for workers to help bolster the community as a condition of the mining licence, with the company saying it will build more than 50 new houses and townhouses in the Moranbah area, where the project is based.  The Moranbah community has been strained by the coal mining boom in Queensland and an influx of workers who fly in and fly out, putting pressure on local services and infrastructure.

Broadly, the Project will include:

• underground mining of the deposit using the longwall mining  method
• the installation of a new overland conveyor linking the site with a  Coal Processing Plant (CPP) at Moranbah North
• the upgrade and expansion of the existing CPP at Moranbah North to handle increased production
• construction of two new CPPs
• construction of a number of stacker and reclaimer machines
• the development of new administration and warehouse buildings
• the development of workshop and vehicle servicing facilities
• the development of bathhouse and employee facilities.

Only the site surveying work package has been awarded at this point, however all other work packages are now closed for tendering.