Berrima

The Berrima underground coal mine at Medway in the Southern Highlands of NSW is owned by Boral Limited and fully operated for them by Delta Mining, a fully owned subsidiary of Delta SBD. The mine is integral to Boral's production of cement used in the Australian construction and building industry.

Berrima Coal Mine is part of the Boral Cement Works

The Berrima Mine and colliery at Medway is part of the Boral owned cement works, eight kilometres to its west, at New Berrima. It is a small mine, employing around 40 people overall, including those working at the cement works. The mine also manages a stockpile of coal at Loch Catherine which is in itself a former coal mining site. The mine has been in operation since 1924 and coal mining has been taking place in the area since the 1880's. The Berrima Mine has always been linked to cement production as the coal is used to create the high temperatures required to produce ' cement clinkers.'

Berrima Coal Used in Production of Cement Clinkers

Cement clinkers are formed as a result heating cement making elements such as; limestone, iron ore sand, bauxite and clay, in a rotating kiln to a temperature of 1,400 degrees Celsius. The resulting cement clinkers are then ground with gypsum to make the fine powdery substance that is mixed with water to make cement.

The Coal Mining Town of Medway Could Determine the Berrima Mine's Future

The village of Medway was established as a town to house the Berrima mine workers and their families. The town was expanded during the 1990's when extra land was made available for purchase, for people not employed at the mine, as a means of enjoying a residential lifestyle in a rural environment. This decision may came back to bite them as residents recently (2013) appealed to the NSW Land and Environment Court to stop a planned extension of operations that would give the mine a lifetime well into 2020. Despite the mine operating at the same site and providing employment for local residents for over 100 years, the appeal was upheld. However Delta SBD said they would continue operations despite the court decision as it had current approvals to do so. Delta SBD is currently having discussions with Boral as to future operations at the site.

The Berrima mine is an underground operation that uses the pillar extraction mining method carried out by one of Australia's leading underground coal mining contractors Delta SBD. The mine is located in the Southern Highlands amid national park wilderness and natural bushland only an hours drive from Sydney.

Berrima Mine Produces 200,000 Tonnes of Black Coal Annually

The coal mined at the Berrima Mine is extracted from two coal seams, the rather thin Tongarra and the more substantial Wongawilli seams. These coal measures are overlayed by 110 metre thick sandstone and shale deposits. The Wongawilli seam is generally 10 metres in thickness but only two to three metres of basal deposit is suitable for economical mining. Mining conditions at the berrima Mine are considered as being exceptionally good and minimum roof support is required. The mine is occasionally subjected to large volumes of water entering the operation through dykes which requires additional pumping. Volcanic plugs from extinct volcanoes has destroyed large volumes of coal within the Boral lease. The mine produces around 200,000 tonnes of coal a year.