Glendell

The Glendell open cut coal mine in the New South Wales Hunter Valley Region of New South Wales received approval from the NSW Department of Planning in 1983 to operate as a coal mine. It was then owned by Dalgety Australia and Renison Goldfields Limited. However, because of financial constraints the project was never completed. Renison Goldfields acquired full ownership of the project in 1989 but in 1992 sold it to a joint venture which included Savage Resources, Marion Coal Pty Ltd, and Mitsui Matsushima. Savage Resources sold its share to Pasminco in February 1999 and in July of the same year Pasminco sold their interest in the project to Glencore Coal Australia. Glencore changed its name to Enex Coal in 2001 and a year later it was acquired by Xstrata Coal Pty Ltd. By early 2003 Xstrata was the sole owner of the operation.

Mine Approval Modified to Allow Integration With Xstrata's Other Nearby Operations

Xstrata then went about seeking modification to the Glendell Mine Development Approval that had earlier been issued by the Department of Planning, to allow it to better utilise its mining interests in the area, that included Ravensworth East and Mt Owen, by including the Glendell Mine into the one Mt Owen Complex. The Glendell project being an open cut coal mine adjacent to its other two mines. The Glendell mine was approved to produce 3.6 million tonnes of ROM coal a year.

Approval to integrate the Glendell, Ravensworth East and Mt Owen open cut mines enabled all mines to use the existing coal handling facilities and infrastructure at the Mt Owen Mine. The Mt Owen Mine was formerly the Hunter Valley Coal Corporation and as such had its own CHPP (coal handling preparation plant) and other facilities.

All Operations use Similar Mining Methods

The Glendell Mine uses similar open cut mining methods as do the other two Xstrata mines which entailed the common use of large excavators, haul trucks, water trucks, dozers, graders, drills, loaders, service carts and fuel. All followed the same sequence of clearing of top soil and associated vegetation, drilling, blasting etc to remove overburden to gain access to the coal seams. The uncovered coal is then extracted and taken to the CHPP at the Mt Owen Mine where it is processed. Clean coal is taken to the product stockpile before being loaded onto railway wagons for transportation 120 kilometres to the Newcastle port for exporting to other countries.

Nearby Neighbourhoods Considered Regarding Blasting Times

Because the Glendell open cut coal mine is close to neighbourhood homes any necessary blasting is restricted to only take place between the hours of nine in the morning and five in the afternoon during most seasons but between nine in the morning and six in the afternoon during summer daylight saving time. No blasting is allowed on Sundays. After the overburden is blasted it is excavated in a series of five metre lifts, or benches, loaded onto rear dump trucks and deposited in one of the overburden emplacement areas. Wherever possible overburden is dumped in a pit where the coal has been extracted. The coal seam, once exposed, is extracted by means of excavators, loaded into the rear dump trucks and taken over company roads to the ROM receival point at the Mt Owen CHPP. Most of the ROM coal received at the CHPP is able to be handled as it arrives without having to be stockpiled.

The CHPP at the Mt Owen mine is able to process 15 million tonnes of ROM coal a year. Coal that leaves the plant is graded and stockpiled. It is then fully automatically loaded via the train loading facility for transporting to Newcastle.