Echo

The Echo open cut coal mine is operated by the Francis Mining Company Limited. It is located 10 kilometres south east of Reefton on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, in the Garvey Creek coalfield.

Echo Mine Coal is Sold to Specialist Markets Around the World
The Echo coal mine is a producer of a semi-soft, low phosphorus, low ash,
coking coal that is sold to carbon product producers, producers of coke and to specialised silicon producers in Australia, Canada and Saudi Arabia.

Echo Mine has 100 Years of Coal in Reserves
The mine operator is constantly expanding its mining operation and is currently in the process of planning inderground development. The Echo mine is situated within a 1,200 hectare mining tenement that encompasses more than 100 years of coal reserves that gives the mine a significant future growth potential.

Echo Coal Finds Niche Markets Worldwide
During its formative years, Francis Mining Company Limited, was, in the main, a producer of coal to the New Zealand domestic market, however, in 1988 it began exporting coking coal to India on the international market. Since 1996 it has been providing specialist coal products on the export market around the world, although it still supplies coal to the New Zealand local market at a much reduced rate.

Echo Coal Exported out of the Lyttelton Port
Coal is taken from the Echo mine by means of a truck and shovel method and processed on site. Once processed the coal is taken by truck to a rail loadout facility. It is taken from there by railway wagons to the port at Lyttelton, near Christchurch, on the East Coast. The Lyttelton port has a capacity to handle shipping that is able to load 65,000 metric tonnes. Coal from the Echo mine can also be transported to the Greymouth port on the West Coast which is able to handle barges and ships to a loading capacity of 8,000 metric tonnes.

Francis Mining Company Formed in 1985
The Francis Mining Company can trace its beginnings back to 1982 when, as North Otago Road Metals Company Limited, it took on contract work for Coal and Energy. As a result the Francis Mining Company was officially formed in 1985. It had acquired the Welcome opencut mine near Reefton, on the West Coast, from Coal and Energy, the previous year, in 1984. It went ahead and acquired several other mines between 1986 and 1989 in the Reefton and Greymouth areas. The Coal and Energy acquisitions, along with the purchasing of Washdyke Coal and Thomas Brown Limited in 1989, considerably expanded the Francis Mining Company Limited's mining operations, as well as the marketing and industrial arms of these companies.

Reserves Could Expand Echo Coal Mine Underground
The Echo coal mine's location in the Garvey Creek coalfield means it part of the Brunner Coal Measures. The structure within the Echo mining area is complex, being dominated by a highly deformed monoclinal structure where three seperate coal seams are being mined. The coal measure structure that is located at considerable depth is far more uniform which makes it suitable for underground mining.
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