Goonyella-Riverside ML1763

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This is mining lease ML1763 which is for the Goonyella Riverside coal mine which is owned by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, each with 50%. The company entity whose is the registered lease holder is BHP Coal Pty Limited. Operations began in 1971 and the mining method is open cut utilizing draglines, shovels, and trucks to produce a high quality medium volatile coaking coal. Three seams are mined which dip 3-6 degrees to the east: Goonyella Upper Seam, Goonyella Middle Seam, and the Goonyella Lower Seam. Riverside reserves which are covered by ML1764 and ML1900 were exhausted in 2005 but the Goonyella leases have reserves of 663 milltion tonnes and in-situ reserves of about 1.6 billion tonnes which equates to a life of mine (LOM) of around 60 years. The mine is capable of producing 14 million tonnes annually and coal is washed and prepared then shipped 190km by rail to the Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay shipping facilities. Each train has up to 120 coal wagons which are capable of transporting more than 9000 tonnes of coal. The ports are capable of handling vessels with a capacity of up to 200,000 tonnes.

Goonyella mine commenced operation in 1971 and was owned by the CQCA Joint Venture which was manager by Utah Development Company. The Riverside mine commenced operation in 1982 and was owned by Thiess Dampier Mitsui which was manager by BHP. In 1984 BHP purchased Utah International and then in 1989 the Goonyella and Riverside management amalgamated to achieve improved operation but still maintain separate ownerhsip. In 2000 the formal adoption of One Min Plan was institued which allowed the use of all site resources between both mines. This lead to the formation fo the current BHP Mitsubishi Alliance.

Mining starts with overburden removal and the preparation for that is to drill 270mm holes in an 8x8 pattern using Drilltech D90 drills then the holes are filled with bulk explosives with a powder factor of 0.43. Overburden depths range from around 70 to 150 metres and after blasting it is removed by prestrip equipment which includes P&H shovels, Komatsu and Caterpillar trucks, conveyor system, and a mobile sizer. Once the prestrip process is completed then draglines are used to expose the coal seams, utilizing 3 Marion 8050, 2 Bucyrus Erie 1370, and 2 Bucyrus Erie 1350 models. After prestrip the draglines typically have to remove around 50-60 metres of the original overburden.

The actual mining process used front end loaders and hydraulic shovels to load the haul trucks which are bottom dump equipped. Typical hauls average between 16 and 30 km and 2-3 faces are simultaneously mined to achieve a good blend for the preparation plants. Satellite based tracking is used to monitor the mining fleet.

Coal preparation includes blending the different coal mined from the separate faces where it is crushed to -50mm. The process involves dense medium separation of coarse product from coarse reject, and uses column flotation to separate fine product from fine reject. All plants operate with PLC and SCADA control and process equipment.

As the mining progresses eastwards the coal seams dip to the point where it is uneconomical to strip overburden so underground Longwall mining is used in the Goonyella lease and in the new Red Hill Mining lease to the east of the main Goonyella lease to gain access to those reserves. In the Goonyella lease underground mining is carried out to the east of the of the Broadmeadow and Isaac Pits, and to the southeast of Isaac Pit.