(EnergyAsia, January 3 2011, Tuesday) — US-based Peabody Energy said it is increasing seaborne coal volumes for both the domestic and export markets at its expanded Wilpinjong and Millennium mines in Australia.
Following a combined investment of up to A$370 million by 2014, Peabody said it expects to raise annual production at the two mines by a total three to five million tons.
From this year, the Wilpinjong surface thermal coal mine in New South Wales will increase annual production by two to three million tons from 9.2 million tons in 2010 after investing a total of A$95 million to build a preparation plant and expand coal handling capacity. (US$1=A$0.96).
The Millennium mine in Queensland expects to raise annual output of PCI and semi-hard coal by one to two million tons per year at capacity in 2013. Peabody said it has invested approximately A$20 million of the expansion capital to date, with the majority of the investment of up to $275 million to be made over the next two years. Millennium sold 1.6 million tons in 2010.
“The successful expansions of Wilpinjong and Millennium increase our annual thermal and metallurgical coal supplies to serve the highest-demand regions by a combined three to five million tons,” said Peabody Energy chairman and CEO Gregory H. Boyce.
“With the recent acquisition of Macarthur Coal and additional Australian mine expansions over the next several years, Peabody plans on a rising share of our earnings to come from the world’s largest coal exporting nation.”
Peabody said it has secured a 10-year agreement with the Australian Rail Track Corporation for below-rail track access in the Hunter Valley rail network from this month. The contract covers expansion volumes from the Wilpinjong and Wambo mines in line with contracts and allocations in place with export terminals at the Port of Newcastle.
Peabody Energy is the world’s largest private-sector coal company and a global leader in clean coal solutions. Its coal products fuel approximately 10% of US power and 2% of worldwide electricity.