Central Queensland is an imprecisely-defined geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coast west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional Council southern boundary, and south to Gladstone. The region is also known as Capricornia. It is one of Australia's main coal exporting regions.
The Surat Basin is a geological basin in eastern Australia. It is part of the Great Artesian Basin drainage basin of Australia. The Surat Basin extends across an area of 270,000 square kilometres and the southern third of the basin occupies a large part of northern New South Wales, the remainder is in Queensland. It comprises Jurassic through to Cretaceous aged sediments derived from Triassic and Permian arc rocks of the Hunter-Bowen orogeny. Towns situated above the basin, once dominated by agriculture, are experiencing a boom as mines and infrastructure in the area are expanded.
Queensland's energy policy is based on the year 2000 document called the Queensland Energy Policy: A Cleaner Energy Strategy. The Queensland Government assists energy development through the Department of Energy and Water Supply. The state is noted for its significant contribution to coal mining in Australia. The primary fuel for electricity generation in the state is coal with coal seam gas becoming a significant fuel source. Queensland has 98% of Australia's reserves of coal seam gas. An expansion of energy-intensive industries such as mining, economic growth and population growth have created increased demand for energy in Queensland.
The Goonyella railway system is located in Central Queensland, Australia. It services the coal mining area of the Bowen Basin, carrying coal to the Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminals 20 km southeast of Mackay, as well as products to other destinations by way of connections to the North Coast Line at Yukan and the Central Line at Burngrove via the Gregory coal mine branch. It is also connected to the coal loading terminal at Abbot Point by the GAP line. The line opened on 5 November 1971 and runs for 477 kilometres. The Goonyella system is narrow gauge 1,067 mm and electrified using 25 kV 50 Hz. The line has been duplicated from Hay Point to Wotonga (174 km) and features CTC signalling over the entire system.
Goonyella Riverside Mine is a large open cut coking coal mine in the Bowen Basin. It is one of many coal mines in Central Queensland, Australia and is located at Moranbah about 30 km north of the township. The mine produced 12.4 million tonnes of metallurgical coal from July 2012 to June 2013. It is owned by BHP Mitsubishi Alliance. The Goonyella Upper Seam, the Goonyella Middle Seam and the Goonyella Lower Seam are all mined at the site. The coal is well known for its great coking characteristics. Much of the coal was such a high grade, the wash plants were often programmed to add ash to meet the contracted export quality targets.
÷Some of the more notable coal companies in Australia are the following:
The Galilee Basin is a large inland geological basin in the western Queensland region of Australia. The Galilee Basin is part of a larger Carboniferous to Mid-Triassic basin system that contains the Cooper Basin, situated towards the south-west of the Galilee Basin, and the Bowen Basin to the east. The Galilee Basin covers a total area of approximately 247,000 square kilometres (95,000 sq mi). The basin is underlain by the Carboniferous Drummond Basin and overlain by the Cretaceous – Jurassic Eromanga Basin. The Triassic and younger sediments of the Galilee Basin form the basal sequence of the Great Artesian Basin drainage basin.
The Collinsville Coal Mine is a coal mine located in Springlands and Collinsville in the Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia. The open-cut mine lies in the northern Bowen Basin. Collinsville produces coking and steaming coal for both domestic use and export. Exports leave the country via Abbot Point.
The Coppabella Coal Mine is an open-cut coal mine located in Strathfield, Isaac Region, Central Queensland, Australia. It lies in the eastern part of the Bowen Basin near the towns of Nebo and Moranbah. The coal is dated to the Late Permian age and are located within the Rangal Coal Measures.
The German Creek Coal Mine is an underground coal mine 25 kilometres south west of Middlemount in Central Queensland, Australia. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 248 million tonnes of coking coal, one of the largest coal reserves in Asia and the world. The mine has an annual production capacity of 6 million tonnes of coal.
The Hail Creek Coal Mine is a coal mine located within the Bowen Basin at Hail Creek in Central Queensland, Australia. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 970 million tonnes of coking coal, one of the largest coal reserves in Asia and the world. The mine has an annual production capacity of 5.5 million tonnes of coal. In 2011, seven million tonnes of coal were produced. The mine is operated by Glencore Australia and owned by Queensland Coal, Nippon Steel Australia, Marubeni Coal and Sumisho Coal Development.
The Moranbah North Coal Mine is a coal mine in the Bowen Basin at Moranbah in Central Queensland, Australia. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 261 million tonnes of coking coal, one of the largest coal reserves in the world. The mine has an annual production capacity of 8 million tonnes of coal. Most of the coal is exported and used to produce iron and steel in Asia but also to India, Brazil and Europe via the Goonyella railway line to Hay Point.
The North Goonyella Coal Mine is a coal mine located in the Bowen Basin at Moranbah in Central Queensland, Australia. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 175 million tonnes of coking coal, one of the largest coal reserves in Australia and the world. The mine has an annual production capacity of 2 million tonnes of coal. 2.6 million tonnes of coal were produced in 2012.
The Oaky Creek Coal Mine is a coal mine located 17 kilometres east-southeast of Tieri in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland, Australia. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 288 million tonnes of coking coal, one of the largest coal reserves in Asia and the world. The mine has an annual production capacity of 11 million tonnes of coal. Oaky Creek is one of Australia's highest producing coal mines over a period of several years. It was opened in 1983.
The Saraji Coal Mine is a coal mine located near Dysart in the Central Queensland region of Australia. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 648 million tonnes of coking coal, one of the largest coal reserves in Asia and the world. The mine has an annual production capacity of 10 million tonnes of coal. It is located in the Bowen Basin, an area with significant coal deposits and numerous mines. It is owned by the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA).
The Collinsville – Newlands – North Goonyella line, also known as the Goonyella – Abbot Point (GAP) line and the Newlands railway system, is a railway line in Queensland, Australia. It was opened in a series of sections between 1922 and 2012. It commences at Merinda, near Bowen and extends south to North Goonyella coal mine, connecting to the Goonyella railway line. The nearby 13 km line from Kaili to Abbot Point is considered part of the GAP system.
The Bowen River is a river in North Queensland, Australia.
Bowen Consolidated Colliery is a heritage-listed former mine at Station Street and Second Avenue, Scottville, Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1919. It is also known as No. 1 Underground Mine and Bowen Consolidated Coal Company Colliery. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 3 December 2009.
The Collinsville mine disaster on 13 October 1954 resulted in the death of seven men at the Collinsville coal mine in Collinsville, Queensland, Australia.
The Bowen Basin Coalfields contains the largest coal reserves in Australia. This major coal-producing region contains one of the world's largest deposits of bituminous coal. The Basin contains much of the known Permian coal resources in Queensland including virtually all of the known mineable prime coking coal. It was named for the Bowen River, itself named after Queensland's first Governor, Sir George Bowen.
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