COAL MINES AND MINING – QUEENSLAND

Autopilot anger over BHP’s robots

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Original article by Matthew Stevens
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 14-Nov-19

Politicians and union leaders responded with somewhat predictable outrage to BHP’s plans to fully automate the fleet of haulage trucks at its Goonyella coal mine in Queensland. However, the move to driverless trucks should not have been a surprise, given that BHP has been actively deploying the technology at its Pilbara iron ore mines in recent years. The BHP Mitsubishi Alliance has also consulted with Goonyella’s workforce and the local community with regard to the automation strategy, while it has committed to creating additional jobs as well as retaining all current employees.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, BM ALLIANCE COAL OPERATIONS PTY LTD, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND

BHP’s robot trucks head to coal mines

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 24 : 13-Nov-19

BHP has advised that it will commence the roll-out of driverless haulage trucks at its Goonyella Riverside coal mine in 2020. The resources giant will eventually operate a fleet of 86 autonomous trucks at the mine, but it has stressed that the move will not result in any forced redundancies. BHP already uses driverless trucks at its iron ore mines in the Pilbara, but Goonyella will be the first large-scale use of the technology in the coal sector.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, BM ALLIANCE COAL OPERATIONS PTY LTD, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC

Anglo puts brakes on driverless mine trucks

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 2-Oct-19

Anglo American has opted to overhaul the existing fleet of haulage trucks at its Dawson coal mine in Queensland, rather than replace them with autonomous trucks. A spokeswoman say a feasibility study has concluded that the deployment of autonomous vehicles would not be the best use of capital at present; however, Anglo American may reconsider using driverless trucks when its existing fleet reaches the end of its operational life. At present, Whitehaven is the only Australian coal producer to have committed to the use of autonomous trucks, which are now widely used at iron ore mines in the Pilbara.

CORPORATES
ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Future of New Hope’s Acland mine expansion unclear

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 11-Sep-19

The Queensland Court of Appeal has thrown out an appeal by the Oakey Coal Action Alliance to stop the $900 million third stage expansion of New Hope’s New Acland mine. The mine is due to close in 2020, but the proposed expansion would allow it to operate until 2031, as well as boosting yearly output from around 4.6 million tonnes to 7.6 million tonnes. However, despite the Court’s decision, the future of the expansion is still unclear, with the Court yet to make its final orders on the matter.

CORPORATES
NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, OAKEY COAL ACTION ALLIANCE, COURT OF APPEAL (QUEENSLAND)

Adani nod ‘common sense’: Yancoal boss

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 17-Jun-19

Yancoal Australia CEO Reinhold Schmidt has welcomed the decision by Queensland’s Department of Environment to approve Adani’s groundwater management plan for its proposed Carmichael coal mine. The decision was arguably accelerated by Labor’s poor showing in Queensland seats in the federal election, but Schmidt says the mining sector wants consistent and predictable rules, no matter which party is in government.

CORPORATES
YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT AND HERITAGE PROTECTION, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

Adani downsizes, cuts new job numbers to as low as 800

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Original article by Sarah Elks
The Australian – Page: Online : 4-Jun-19

Doubts have emerged as to how many ongoing jobs would be created at Adani’s Carmichael coal mine if the $2bn project goes ahead. A spokeswoman says the project would create 1,500 direct jobs and 6,750 indirect jobs during the ramp-up and construction phases. She adds that the number of jobs when the mine becomes operational will be in line with open-cut coal mines of a similar size in Queensland, which is between 800 and 1,500. Adani had originally flagged the creation of about 5,000 operational jobs at Carmichael, before the size of the project was scaled back.

CORPORATES
ADANI MINING PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED

Doesn’t add up: Albo’s mine craft

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Original article by Greg Brown, Alice Workman
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-May-19

Resources Minister Matt Canavan contends that Labor has learned nothing from how Queenslanders voted in the federal election. Canavan was attacking new Labor leader Anthony Albanese and deputy leader Richard Marles for refusing to say whether they support Adani’s proposed Carmichael coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, with the Basin having estimated thermal coal reserves of 27 billion tonnes. Albanese stated in 2018 that "there’s no market" for thermal coal, and that the Adani mine is "a climate change issue".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL LIMITED

Labor punished for not backing coal jobs, Fitzgibbon says

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 21-May-19

Adani Mining CEO Lucas Dow says the Queensland government needs to take note of Labor’s poor showing in the state at the federal election, describing it as a referendum on the Carmichael coal project. State Labor MPs are worried about the impact that the government’s delay in approving the mine will have on its fortunes at the state election in 2020. Federal Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon says the party needs to show more support for the coal industry and the jobs it creates; he suffered a 10 per cent swing against him in the coal mining seat of Hunter.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL LIMITED, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT AND HERITAGE PROTECTION, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

State MPs poison to Labor’s campaign

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Original article by Michael McKenna, Charlie Peel
The Australian – Page: 6 : 17-May-19

State Labor MPs in regional Queensland say they have been abused while issuing Labor’s how-to-vote cards during the federal election campaign, due to the State Government’s handling of the Adani mine issue. Indeed, federal Labor MP Cathy O’Toole is said to have told local state Labor MPs not to hand out how-to-vote cards in her ultra-marginal seat of Herbert because of local anger over delays to the mine. However, local state Labor MP Scott Stewart has denied that O’Toole asked him not to hand out how-to-vote cards.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

Blocking Adani mine would damage trade with India

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 5-Mar-19

Australia India Business Council chairman Jim Varghese says any move by state or federal governments to block Adani’s Carmichael coal mine would harm trade between the two nations. Varghese says India needs thermal coal to help meet its rapidly growing energy requirements, and he notes that Australian coal is cleaner than other sources. Meanwhile, Adani CEO Lucas Dow says the company would certainly seek compensation if the Greens private members’ bill to block thermal coal in Queensland is approved by state parliament.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA-INDIA BUSINESS COUNCIL INCORPORATED, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, CSIRO, GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY