Coal news and updates

A summary of statistics for the 2015-16 financial year also shows the number of coalmines in NSW has fallen from a modern peak of 62 in June 2010 to 40 in June 2016.

Coal Services, formerly the Joint Coal Board, said the NSW coal industry's production workforce – all those working in or around a mine or coal washery – was the full-time equivalent of 19,388 production workers on June 30, compared with a peak of 24,972 in June 2012.

 

Coal companies are turning to contract labour in an effort to curb production costs, and Coal Services says contractors now account for 33 per cent of the total workforce, with 67 per cent directly employed by the owner/operator of the mine.

Coal Services says NSW coal exports fell for the first time in 15 years last financial year, dropping by 1.9 per cent to 170 million tonnes.

 

Overall raw coal production fell for the second consecutive year after "a decade of unprecedented growth", with preliminary figures showing a 2.5 per cent reduction to 247 million tonnes.

Source:SMH.Com