Macmines Austasia Plans Australia's Largest Coal Mine in Queensland

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Perth, Australia)--China's largest private commercial coke producer, Meijin Energy (Qingxu, China), operating under the name Macmines Austasia in Australia, is planning a $5 billion thermal coal project in Galilee Basin, Queensland. Coal tenements were acquired in 2007 and are located halfway between the towns of Charters Towers and Clermont. The project is called Chinastone and is located 100 kilometers north of the planned Carmichael coal mine project of Adani Mining (NSE:ADANIENT).

The Macmines Chinastone will produce approximately 45 million metric tons per year (MM T/yr) of coal, starting production in 2017, and it is planned to increase production by 2019 to 60 MM T/yr. Chinastone is bound to dwarf Australia's current operating and planned coal mines when it hits its peak production at a later stage.

Chinastone will be required to build a rail line, like its competitors in Galilee Basin, for the transportation of coal to a loading terminal, most likely at Abbot Point. It is also in the process of negotiating port capacity at Abbot Point. When fully operational, Chainastone will employ an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 workers, and it is considering the town of Charters Towers as an accommodation base for a drive-in-drive-out arrangement. However, rail, port and accommodation village aspects of the project will only be examined upon completion of prefeasibility study, which is planned to be completed by April 2013.

Macmines intends to apply for Queensland government approval by mid-2013, and has engaged Hansen Bailey, a specialist environmental consulting company, for the preparation of its environmental impact statement.

The coal resources in Queensland's Galilee basin have remained largely untapped so far, due to their distance from export ports compared to more established ones at Surat and Bowen Basin. This seems to be changing, with almost $25 billion worth projects planned. With these projects, 180 million tonnes of coal could be mined each year, turning the region into "Australia's next coal precinct." However, the fate of these planned investments largely depends on the Queensland government's decision to go ahead with proposed multiple railway lines to Abbot Point, and the expansion of the Abbot Point port itself.

Macmines Austasia's Australian representative and Chinastone's Project Manager Michael Li said: "We are currently working with Minecraft Consulting (Brisbane, Queensland) for the preliminary mine designs; however, environmental approval remains the priority for 2013. We are hopeful to start production by early 2017."

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