Australian coal miner Bowen Coking Coal Ltd has announced that it has shipped first coal from its Bluff Mine near Blackwater as the company establishes itself as Queensland’s next independent metallurgical coal producer. Amid strong coal pricing, Bowen’s first delivery of approximately 35,000 mt of ultra-low volatile pulverised coal injection (ULVPCI) was shipped last week under a sales contract to a Taiwanese company.
“Following our first shipment from Bluff we will see our production start to ramp up quickly. Further sales from Bluff have been committed for August and September as we see this mine achieving steady state production later in this quarter. Following the completion of the Burton acquisition, we now have a portfolio of high quality metallurgical coal developments coming online this year as we ramp up to our production target of 5 million mt per year by 2024. We are making great progress at Broadmeadow East, the first of the enlarged Burton complex pits, with first coal mining also expected this quarter,” Bowen managing director and CEO Gerhard Redelinghuys said.
The Bluff Mine was acquired by Bowen in December 2021 and significant preparation works were undertaken prior to first coal being mined in April under a contract with HSE Mining. Coal production at Bluff mine is now expected to ramp up to 80,000 mt to 100,000 mt per month by the end of next month, representing an annualized production rate of between 1 million mt per year and 1.2 mt per year over four to six years to supply the global steel industry.
