Despite having worked around the Upper Hunter’s coal mining industry for a few years, I was yet to venture out and have a look at BHP’s Mt Arthur Coal Mine up close – until I joined the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue Field Day at the site on October 15.
Alongside community members, business leaders and stakeholders, I got a first-hand glimpse into the operations and the challenges of planning for life after mining as closure approaches in 2030.
Mt Arthur is the largest coal mine in the Hunter Valley with the main pit stretching roughly 7 kilometres wide. You really cannot grasp just how huge it is just from driving past; haul trucks that look tiny from afar are massive up close.
There is so much to see, various coal seams, where it inclines, Orica setting up for a blast, diggers and scrapers and everything else that keeps the coal coming out of the ground and on its way to the CHPP. We also glimpsed the areas earmarked for future projects, including a proposed pumped hydro scheme, highlighting how mine land reuse is already being considered.
Next, we toured areas under rehabilitation. It’s coming along nicely but it’s just the start – with about 80 million square tonnes of dirt to be moved once mining has finished.
There are about 2,200 workers at Mt Arthur and a good chunk of those working in the site’s workshop which was the final stop on our Field Day tour. We had the opportunity to see some haul trucks up close, much to the mechanics amusement I’m sure as we all climbed up amazed at the scale of the trucks. No wonder they say to keep out of their way on the haul roads!
The afternoon was dedicated to discussion and I appreciated the candid answers about the mine’s future. I was particularly curious to put to bed once and for all the rumours that mining could potentially be continuing once BHP has finished.
Beyond 2030 mining at the site becomes much more difficult.
“Our closure provisions and the modification that we have agreed to with the government is very explicit,” said General Manager Darryl Messenger.
“For the mining engineers we’re on our last pre strip of overburden now and then essentially that will be the final walls of the mine. Over the next couple of years we will backfill some pits, flatten off all the dumps and create that final landform so no there will be no coming back from what we are doing.”
Seeing the operations up close and asking questions made the Field Day not just informative but genuinely eye-opening and reinforced why mine land reuse is such a critical conversation for the Upper Hunter.
| Jess sat down with Darryl and three of BHP’s other leaders to talk all things closure, Powering What’s Next, rehab and more on the Digging Deeper with @ The Coalface Podcast. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts and here: https://thecoalface.net.au/podcasts/ |
