New oakleigh

The 65 year old New Oakleigh open cut coal mine, near Rosewood in Queensland, came to a stop on January 25, 2013, when mine owners, New Hope Coal, closed down all mining activities at the site to focus on rehabilitation work. The reason for the closure was that the mine simply ran out of coal meaning the long running operation had reached the end of its productive life.

Pick and shovel work at the Oakleigh coal mine began in either the late1800's or the early 1900's, there are differing opinions as to when the mine actually began commercial production but it is known that the Oakleigh Colliery Company began business in1948 when the Rule family acquired the operation.

New Hope, the last owners of the mine acquired New Oakleigh from Sumitomo Coal in 1999 at a time when the then value of the Australian dollar and a declining export market was putting economic pressure on local mining generally. A fitting finish to its many years of operation occurred in 2012 when the mine won the prestigious Ipswich Business of the Year Award.

Rehabilitation work has been taking place at the New Oakleigh Mine for many years in preparation for its eventual closure and it is expected this work will continue at the mine for many years into the future before it is completed. The 30 odd workers at the mine when it closed have all been employed in other New Hope Group operations meaning there would be no loss of jobs resulting from the closure. New Oakleigh was the last open cut coal mine to survive in the Ipswich area. The New Oakleigh open cut is still visible from the road between Tallegalla and Rosewood.
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