Stratford

The Stratford open cut black coal mine located in the Gloucester Basin in New South Wales is situated 95 kilometres from Newcastle. It had earlier been earmarked for closure in 2003 but successful expansion plans have extended the life of mine to 2030.

Coal was First Produced at the Stratford Mine in 1995
The Stratford Mine, that employs about 120 personnel, began coal production in 1995. It extracts coal from both upper and middle coal seams within the Gloucester Basin. The ROM (Run of Mine) coal from the mine is processed at the on site Stratford Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP). Part of the coal processing includes blending the Stratford coal with coal from the nearby Duralie Mine which is also owned by Chinese mining company Yancoal. Following processing the coal is railed to the port at Newcastle to await export.

The Stratford Open pit is Owned by Yancoal
The Stratford open cut coal mine is wholly owned by Yancoal. Yancoal acquired the operation when it merged with the mine's former owner Gloucester Coal in 2012. CIM Resources began coal mining at Stratford in 1995 and retained ownership until it sold the mine to Gloucester Coal. Production of coal increased over the years, particularly after the development of the adjacent Duralie Mine. Successful exploration has resulted in increased coal reserves and resources at the mine site despite coal production of around four million tonnes a year.

Stratford Life of Mine can be Extended to 2030
Relatively small mining equipment is used at the Stratford Mine because of the thin coal seams that dip steeply. The small equipment gives the miners the ability to selectively extract coal from the thin seams. A Stratford Extension project is presently progressing its way through all the required government approvals. When these extension requests receive approval the life of the Stratford open cut will be extended at least another 10 years, possibly to 2030.

Stratford CHPP is a two Stage Plant
The CHPP at the Stratford Mine is a two stage facility that is capable of producing both high ash thermal coal and low ash coking coal from the one feed or from a single product thermal coal. The coal is processed by means of a series of dense medium cyclones as well as a combination of spirals, froth flotation and a Teerered Bed Separator. Several upgrades and expansions over past years has given the plant a current capacity of 4.3 million tonnes a year with an average yield of around 64 percent.

Coking Coal From the Stratford Mine is Railed to Newcastle for Export
The main northern railway line runs past the Stratford Mine's CHPP which allows the processed coal to be loaded onto railway wagons for transportation to the port at Newcastle from where it is exported to clients in overseas countries. A shuttle train brings coal from the Duralie mine to the Stratford CHPP for processing before it too is railed to Newcastle. This means the rail terminal at the plant has both loading and unloading facilities.

The thermal coal produced at the Stratford mine is sold to contracted customers as well as on the spot market. Coking coal is sold to steel makers in various Asian countries. Stratford coal has a quite high fluidity that makes it a sought after product, however this attribute is somewhat offset by its high sulphur content.
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