Coal news and updates

Bowen Coking Coal transports first Bluff Mine coal

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd has announced that the first shipment of coal from its Bluff Open-cut PCI Mine has left Cook Colliery and been shipped by rail to RG Tanna Coal Terminal, from where it is scheduled to be shipped to the purchaser before the end of June. This represents a significant milestone for the company as it establishes itself as Queensland’s next independent metallurgical coal producer.

“This is the next significant achievement for Bowen,” said Managing Director and CEO, Gerhard Redelinghuys. “Our first shipment from Bluff is just the start of our production ramp up. We have a portfolio of quality metallurgical coal developments coming on line this year at Broadmeadow East, Burton followed by Isaac River as we work towards our production target of mining 5 million tpy ROM by 2024.”

The shipment is under a sales contract with Formosa Plastics Group, a large diversified multinational conglomerate headquartered in Taiwan. The sale was agreed under the 50:50 marketing joint venture with Bowen and M Resources, a specialist metallurgical coal trading company.

The coal produced from Bluff is washed and loaded on rail under an agreement with the nearby Cook Colliery before transport to the RG Tanna Coal Terminal at Gladstone for export. The first two train loads have been delivered to the port with the remaining deliveries scheduled before the end of the month.

Bluff produces an ultra-low volatile pulverised coal injection (ULVPCI) coal, which is particularly attractive for its low ash, high energy and high coke replacement ratio. Demand for ULVPCI is expected to remain buoyant due to the impact on PCI supply from Russia as a result of sanctions imposed following the invasion of Ukraine. ULVPCI coal (Platts symbol MCLVA00) traded over US$348/t on 10 June 2022.