ANGLO American today announced the restart of production at its Grosvenor metallurgical coal mine in Australia after an 18-month hiatus whilst it implemented new safety protocols.
Australia’s regulator Resources Safety and Health Queensland approved the restart of longwall mining at the mine on February 16. It suspended Grosvenor in May 2020 following a gas leak.
However, a slightly later-than-expected restart and the impact of Covid disruption has resulted in a revision of production from Grosvenor this year towards the lower end of its 20 million to 23 million tons (Mt) guidance.
Unit costs were also raised to $85 per ton compared to $80/t previously.
Tyler Mitchelson, CEO of Anglo American’s Metallurgical Coal business said that during the period of Grosvenor’s suspension there had been new investment in automation technology at the mine and in data analytics.
“A number of advancements in the way underground coal mines can operate” had been introduced as a result, he said.
Outgoing Anglo CEO Mark Cutifani said last year the metallurgical coal industry had a critical role to play in the decarbonisation of the globe. Unlike thermal coal, from which Anglo has divested, metallurgical coal was a favoured commodity until about 2035.
Anglo announced earlier this month that its $226m metallurgical coal project Aquila situated in Australia’s Queensland state was in the final stages of commissioning. The mine would have an average annual saleable production of around five million tons, it said.
