New Zealand-based metallurgical coal producer Solid Energy has placed orders totaling NZ$65 million (US$43.7 million) for additional mobile plant and equipment for its Stockton opencast mine.
A company statement said that the delivery, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2010 for a range of Caterpillar machinery and Haulmax trucks from Gough Gough & Hamer Ltd, will take Solid Energy's investment in Stockton to just under $280 million in the last 18 months, enhancing the production level.
The mine in Buller Coalfield, 35 km north of Westport on the West Coast of the South Island, New Zealand, is the country's largest coal mine. It annually produces around two million mt of high-quality steelmaking coal for export and employs more than 600 people. Stockton has sufficient economically recoverable resources to continue producing for at least another 20 years.