Heavy Rains Disrupt Australian Coal Mining Operations
Heavy rain and floods have disrupted coal mining operations in Queensland, Australia. Coal deliveries in the region have been put on hold because flood damage to rail tracks between mines and ports has halted trains, leaving a queue of ships due for loading off of the coast.
Heavy rain and floods have disrupted coal mining operations in Queensland, Australia.
Coal deliveries in the region have been put on hold because flood damage to rail tracks between mines and ports has halted trains, leaving a queue of ships due for loading off of the coast.
Coal mines with an annual production capacity of at least 80 million tons, about 30% of Australia’s coal exports, are under force majeure, according to Adelaidenow.
Major mining firms such as BHP, Mitsubishi, Anglo American, Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Peabody Energy, Vale, Cockatoo Coal, Macarthur Coal and others have declared force majeure for their mines.
At Dalrymple Bay, a derailment blocked the rail line for seven days, disrupting exports worth $4bn.
Production at Cockatoo Coal’s Buralaba mine has been halted because water breached the pit wall.