Jeebropilly

The Jeebrobilly open cut black coal mine located in the Moreton Basin Region of South East Queensland was closed in 2007, after a 25 year life producing quality coal. It was quickly brought back into production a year later, in 2008, when the price of coal started rebounding following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC)of 2007/08. However, world coal prices remain rather unpredictable and the owners plan to close operations at the mine again over the next few years.

Jeebrobilly Coal Washing Plant Kept Operating When Mine Closed

During its closure its coal washing plant was kept operating to cater for coal still being produced from the company's New Oakleigh Mine. The Jeebrobilly, New Ackland and New Oakleigh coal mines in the same area are all owned by New Hope Coal, along with Queensland Bulk Handling. New Hope Coal is an old independent Australian coal mining company with its headquarters in Brisbane that was first listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1904.

Jeebrobilly Mine is Part of the West Moreton Operation

The Jeebrobilly coal mine is part of the company's West Moreton coal operations that also includes the New Oakleigh open pit coal mine. The closest town to the mine is Rosewood which is 23 kilometres from the main centre of Ipswich and just under a hundred kilometres from Brisbane.

Overburden at the Jeebrobilly Mine is either ripped by bulldozers, or blasted, to allow access to the coal seam. The multi thin seam operation that follows makes use of excavators, front end loaders and trucks in the traditional manner. Coal mined at the Jeebrobilly Mine is sold on the local domestic market as well as for export out of the port at Brisbane.

The land from which the coal is extracted at Jeebrobilly is owned freehold by New Hope Coal and rehabilitation takes place as the coal seams are exhausted.

Coal was Once the Lifeblood of Ipswich, the 'Cradle' of the Queensland Coal Mining Industry

Over two million tonnes of coal was produced in the West Moreton Region in the 1980's. At this time more than 4,000 people living in Ipswich relied on the coal industry for their living. It was during this period that coal export became a reality and New Hope Coal had the honour of making the first coal export shipment from the area out of the grain terminal at Pinkenba on the MV 'Floret' on September 10, 1980. The coal export business showed so much promise that New Hope Coal and TNT Shipping joined forces to build a coal loading facility at the closer and larger Brisbane port, at Fisherman Islands. This coal loading facility is known as Queensland Bulk Handling. It was commissioned in 1983. The coal export industry continued growing to such an extent that New Hope Coal exported 90 percent of their total coal production by 1986 and only 10 percent went to domestic sales for power generation and general industry needs.

The Ipswich area of Queensland has the honour of being the birthplace of the Queensland coal industry and is often referred to as being the 'cradle of coal mining' for the state. Coal was first found there in 1825 by Edmund Lockyer, an Army Major. He noticed an outcrop on the banks of the upper reaches of the Brisbane River. Two years later, in 1827, coal was discovered between Ipswich and Brisbane by another army man, Captain Patrick Logan. The most successful of the early coal mines was that operated by Walter Gray in 1855.