The Queensland government has declared an AU$662 million extension proposal for Peabody Energy’s Centurion coal mine as a coordinated project.
The project, located 40 kilometres north of Moranbah, will deliver 525 jobs and is a sign of investor confidence in Queensland mining.
The proposed development would extend mining from the southern area into the adjoining norther area as part of the full Centurion mine plan, which is expected to export premium quality hard coking coal through to 2055.
Peabody’s CEO Jim Grech said the declaration is a significant milestone in the company’s development of the Centurion mine.
“Centurion is also advancing our safety and sustainability commitments by extracting coal seam gas ahead of mining to improve safety and cut emissions, reusing the gas to power the operations and converting surplus into LNG to boost regional supply.”
The mine is expected to produce up to 7.1 million tonnes of run-of-mine coal annually and extract up to 10 petajoules of coal seam gas to safely manage underground methane levels, provide power to the mine and boost Queensland’s gas supply.
Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, Jarrod Bleijie said the declaration demonstrated the global demand for investing in Queensland’s coal resources.
“This coordinated project declaration of Peabody’s Centurion Mine extension demonstrates Queensland’s resources industry is well and truly open for business.
“This declaration will fast-track approvals by delivering a coordinated, whole-of-government streamlined assessment process to manage the project.”
