Muswellbrook no2

The Muswellbrook coal mine, in the New South Wales Hunter Valley, began producing coal in 1907 as an underground coal mine. In 1944 it began open cut mining. It is one of the oldest coal mines in New South Wales that remains operational. The mine is currently owned by Idemitsa Australia Resources Pty Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Japanese company, Idemitsu Kosan Company Limited. The Muswellbrook Mine produces around one million tonnes of coal a year. Although the Muswellbrook No 2 open pit has exhausted its reserves, Open Pit No 1 is still being mined and the company is looking into developing two other
areas within the lease, along with the West Muswellbrook Project, that is expected to produce more than seven million tonnes of coal a year.

Muswellbrook Coal Taken to Newcastle
The Muswellbrook Mine is located three kilometres north east of the town of the same name, Muswellbrook. It consists of open cut mining exploiting multiple coal seams that is carried out with the use of a face shovel, hydraulic excavators, front end loaders and a fleet of trucks. Overburden is removed by a combination excavators and an electric face shovel that load it into dump trucks that take it to fill previous mined out areas. The run-of- mine (ROM) coal mined, from the Muswellbrook Mine, is washed on site before being transported by truck to the Ravensworth Coal Terminal where it is loaded onto railway wagons and taken to Newcastle. The mine employs around 130 mining personnel either directly or indirectly through contractors.

Muswellbrook Rehabilitation is Ongoing
The overburden that is removed, to allow access to the coal seam, is used to fill the void left behind from where coal has previously been mined. When this filling reaches the desired height it is shaped to create an erosion resistant and stable land form. Drainage is then created and previously stored topsoil spread over the surface where it is seeded with a mixture of trees and grasses.

Muswellbrook Open cut Takes in Former Underground Pillars
The open cut at the Muswellbrook No. 2 Mine involved mining through areas that had previously been mined as an underground operation. These particular seams included the Lewis, Muswellbrook, St Helliers and Fleming coal seams, as up to 55 percent of the coal resource at the Muswellbrook Mine is in abandoned underground pillars. Current coal mining operations at the Muswellbrook Mine are targeting the Loader, Lewis, St Hilliers, Muswellbrook, Hallet and Fleming coal seams that range in thickness from 9.5 to one metre.

Muswellbrook Mine is Involved in Local Community Activities
Idemitsa Australia Resources Pty Ltd, the Muswellbrook Mine owner, is active in the Muswellbrook community where it supports the following activities:

Muswellbrook Shire Council e-waste collection day
Old railway wagon restoration
Provision of equipment and facilities at local community schools
Supporting local historical and cultural events such as; the
Muswellbrook Historical Society and Carols by Candlelight
Support and participation in the Annual Upper Hunter Regional
Show

Idemitsu is a Japanese global corporation that is involved in the following businesses:

Computer software development, consulting and sales
Real Estate sales, management and leasing
Refining, manufacturing and sale of petroleum and oil
Sale and manufacturing of petrochemical products
Exploration and development of petroleum, geothermal and coal resources
Manufacturing of agricultural products
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