Phone

+61 7 3031 7777
Call us: (Australia)+61 7 3031 7777

Australian operations

Curragh complex

  • Location: Approximately 14km north of Blackwater in the Bowen Basin, Central Queensland – one of the world’s largest coal basins and Australia’s largest source of metallurgical coal.
  • Size: Approximately 256km²
  • Reserves (ROM): 290 Mt
  • Resources: 936 Mt
  • Year opened: Curragh has been operating since 1983 and was acquired by Coronado in 2018.
  • Active mines: Two open cut mines – Curragh South and Curragh North
  • Fleet Size: Four large draglines, one electric rope shovel, 13 truck and excavator fleets and two coal preparation plants
  • Coal Products: High-quality low-vol HCC, SCC, PCI and thermal coal
  • Key Customers: Curragh’s met coal is exported to leading steelmakers throughout Asia, Europe and South America. Curragh’s thermal coal is primarily sold domestically to Stanwell Corporation Limited to generate electricity. Our Curragh mine is under a long-term contractual obligation to supply thermal coal to Stanwell, a Queensland Government-owned entity and the operator of the Stanwell Power Station near Rockhampton, Queensland.
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Projects

Curragh underground expansion

The Curragh underground expansion project will increase overall saleable production at Curragh, with first coal expected in late 2024. The project aims to increase overall production from the Curragh complex, thereby optimising existing preparation plant capacity and improving overall cost per tonne of production.

As an additional mining method (bord and pillar), the underground project:

  • is resilient to environmental conditions, such as wet weather, which have heavily impacted the Bowen Basin’s production in recent years
  • is flexible and cost effective
  • has lower environmental disturbance and enables Coronado to maximise the existing Curragh coal resources.

Gas pilot project

The gas pilot project is considered industry leading for open cut coal mines as we explore and appraise gas reservoir characteristics, to better understand the potential to effectively reduce open cut fugitive emissions.

The project plans to flow and appraise beneficial use cases of waste mine coal gas, such as a diesel substitute for our operating fleets or for power generation.

Drilling works for the pilot project were completed in 2023, and a dual-fuel mine truck 12-week trial using gas transported from Brisbane was completed without incident.

Read more about our emissions reduction projects

Environmental sustainability

We are committed to extracting high-quality coal in an environmentally responsible way via our approach to climate, biodiversity and rehabilitation, water, air and waste.
Read more

Social sustainability

We continuously evaluate the social impacts of our operations, improving safety and health, and the rights and wellbeing of our people and the communities in which we work.
Read more