Australia's Narrabri North Coal Mine Prepares for Shutdown, Longwall Relocation

Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--Whitehaven Coal Limited (ASX:WHC) (Sydney, New South Wales) is preparing for the upcoming annual major maintenance shutdown at its Narrabri North Coal Processing Plant. The project is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2014.

The planned major maintenance shutdown is due to begin in September and will be integrated with a longwall relocation project. The process will involve recovery, transport and installation operations that will require detailed planning and preparation for the mine to continue producing up to 5.5 million tons of coal per year.

Sources at the mine site have confirmed that the mine will undergo routine inspections and repairs that will include the single Dense Medium Cyclone and 1,000-ton-per-hour (T/hr) CSI Rotary Breaker. Whitehaven Coal Limited's in-house maintenance team will carry out the four-to-six-week project, with completion in October.

The Narrabri North Processing Plant, based 28 kilometers south-southeast of Narrabri in New South Wales, opened its doors in 2010 and commenced initial longwall production in October 2012. Since its official opening, the site has been exposed only to longwall relocation activities on a handful of occasions.

The processing plant features a 1,000-T/hr pulverized coal injection module that can produce more than 6 million tons per year through various underground semi-anthracite and bituminous coal mining procedures. It is expected that continued coal extraction at the site could last well over the estimated 25-year mine life cycle. Narrabri North produces a high-energy export thermal coal and a mid-volatile pulverized-coal-injection (PCI) coal that is low in ash, sulfur and phosphorus.

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