German creek east

The German Creek open cut coal mine in the coal rich Bowen Basin Region of Queensland has extended south to now take in the Oak Park area. It is operated by Capcoal, a company jointly owned by Anglo American and Mitsui Coal Holdings Australia. The mining operation is located approximately 20 kilometres from the town of Middlemount and about 10 kilometres from the German Creek underground operation where its coal is processed for sale.

The Southern Extension of the German Creek East Open cut has Created the Oak Park Operation
Capcoal operate two underground and two open cut mines in Central Queensland's Bowen Basin Region. The two open cut operations being Lake Lindsay and Oak Park, the latter being the southern extension of the German Creek East Mine.

German Creek East With CapCoal's Other Leases Cover 27,343 Hectares
The Capcoal operated coal mines produce high quality premium grade hard coking coal for the export market, where it sold to overseas steel makers. Most of Capcoal's coal is mined from the German Creek Formation which has become renown for its high quality product. The German Creek Sequence contains five coal seams; Pleiades, Aquila, Tieri, Corvus and German Creek. Capcoal hold mining leases covering 27,343 hectares over these substantial seams that contain an estimated coal resource of one billion tonnes and reserves of 157 million tonnes.

Coal Produced is Processed at the German Creek Coal Processing Plant
The German Creek East/Oak Park coal mining operation is located 240 kilometres south west of Mackay and within comfortable driving distance from the major Queensland regional centres of Rockhampton and Emerald. Around nine million tonnes of PCI and hard coking coal is mined annually at the German Creek East/ Oak Park open cut mine along with Capcoal's other mining operations in the Bowen Basin. Following processing at the German Creek Coal Processing Plant (CHPP) the coal is transported 360 kilometres to the RG Tanna Coal Terminal and the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal for exporting to customers in Latin America, Europe and throughout Asia.

Most German Creek East Workers Live at Middlemount
Most mine workers who are employed at the German Creek East/ Oak Park open cut coal mine live in the town of Middlemount that provides them with modern sporting, community and educational facilities, much of it subsidised by the Capcoal mining operations. The mine management keeps up a range of informal and formal communication avenues with the towns people and their various organisations. An important aspect is the support given to community events and various services. In 2008/09 the company invested $25 million in the upgrading of 100 homes in the town and spent $2.6 million upgrading the Middlemount shopping centre.

Mining Began at German Creek in 1991
Open pit coal mining began at German Creek in the latter half of 1991 with the use of four drag-lines. Today it only uses one drag-line at the Oak Park operation mining the five metre thick Middlemount seam. The mining operation itself is supported by utilising a large up to date fleet of dozers, loaders, coal haulers and the necessary support equipment, as well as all the necessary site facilities that carry out maintenance and repair work. The Oak Park operation is planned to extend the German Creek East open pit mine for a further twenty years.
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