Daunia

The open cut Daunia coal mine that was officially opened in September 2013 is operated by an excavator and truck fleet. The mine is owned as a 50/50 joint venture between BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd and operated by BMA ( BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance).

The Daunia Mine Produces Coal for the Export Market
The Daunia Mine that is located at the northern end of the Bowen Basin,
18 kilometres south west of Coppabella, is expected to produce 4.5 million tonnes of quality semi hard coking coal and PCI (pulverised coal injection) coal for the export market.

Asset Development at the Daunia Open Cut Coal Mine
The Daunia coal mine is comprised of the following:
- An open cut mining operations
- A coal handling preparation plant (CHPP)
- Conveyor system
- Haulage roads
- An overpass over the Norwich Park railway line (that links various mining areas to the treatment plant)
- Administrative offices, workshop and general mine infrastructure
- Truck fleet and excavator

Construction of the Daunia Mine began in mid 2011 and was completed in 2013.The mine is expected to reach full production capacity of 4.5 million tonnes a year by early 2014.

Daunia Mine Construction Completed by Bechtel
The Daunia open cut coal mine was constructed by international construction company Bechtel which provided all the engineering, procurement, management and construction services for the project, using up to 1,000 contractors that were sourced from the skilled resource pools around South East Queensland, the Bowen Basin and Mackay.

Decision to Employ FIFO Workers at the Daunia Mine Upsets Locals
The Daunia coal mine is employing a workforce of 450 employees, 100 of which are women, most of whom are accommodated at the Mac Village at Coppabella when rostered on duty. The decision by BMA to operate a fly- in-fly-out workforce to operate the Daunia Mine was originally met by considerable opposition from the local community because it felt it would miss out on any economical benefit the mine would deliver over the life of the mine, which is expected to last for the next 30 years. However, BMA have continued to engage with the local community keeping people updated of all happenings at the mine site.

Daunia Mine Owner BMA is the Largest Local Employer in the Bowen Basin Region
BMA has claimed it remains committed to the Bowen Basin Region and, where possible, prefers to source its workforce from the local communities. It has the largest residential workforce of any other mining company in the Bowen Basin. The company said it will continue to invest in accommodation and community development in the areas where it operates but defended its decision to source the workforce for the Daunia Mine from Brisbane and Cairns regions by claiming economic and employment benefits should be shared with other regions.

Daunia Mine Inherits Railway and Port Infrastructure That Keeps Costs Down
The Daunia mine is BHP Billiton's ninth coking coal mine currently operating in Queensland where it mines the world's highest quality metallurgical coal. The development of the Daunia Mine is notable because it is able to use existing railway and port infrastructure therefore facilitating both capital and cost efficiencies along with its low stripping volume. It also gives its owners considerable potential for expansion in later years.
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