Anglo American Starts Up New Aquila Coal Mine in Queensland, Australia
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Anglo American’s new Aquila Coal Mine has achieved its first longwall shear of steelmaking metallurgical coal on schedule and on budget, marking the project’s final stages of construction and commissioning.
The Aquila mine, located near Middlemount in Central Queensland in Australia, extends the life of Anglo American’s existing Capcoal underground operations by seven years, after the company’s nearby Grasstree mine reached its end of life in recent weeks.
“We have delivered the Aquila project on time and within our budgeted attributable cost of $226 million. This new mine will have a total average annual saleable production of around five million tonnes of premium quality hard coking coal and benefits from low capital intensity as we are using the existing infrastructure and systems from our adjacent operations,” said Themba Mkhwanazi, CEO of Bulk Commodities.
“Safely starting up longwall mining at Aquila Mine on our original schedule, despite the effects of the pandemic, is an important milestone for our metallurgical coal business and will support our ongoing contribution to both the Middlemount community, and Queensland’s economy,” said Tyler Mitchelson, CEO of Anglo American’s Metallurgical Coal business.
“The mine uses our existing infrastructure at our Capcoal complex and supports around 600 ongoing operational roles for our Queensland-based workforce, including providing continuity of employment for our Grasstree mining team,” added Mitchelson.
The Aquila Mine has been developed as one of Australia’s most technologically advanced underground mines, leveraging Anglo American’s advancements in underground automation technology, remote operations, and data analytics. The mine features two longwalls, allowing operations to continue without the downtime that is usually required for longwall moves. Both longwalls are fully remote-capable and will be sequentially operated from a site-based remote operations center on the surface of the mine.
Anglo American’s Capcoal complex comprises Capcoal Open Cut Mine, Grasstree Mine, Aquila Mine, the Coal Handling and Preparation Plant, and associated infrastructure. Aquila is owned 70 percent by Anglo American and 30 percent by Mitsui & Co. Ltd.
About Anglo American
Anglo American is a leading global mining company and its products are the essential ingredients in almost every aspect of modern life. Their portfolio of world-class competitive operations, with a broad range of future development options, provides many of the future-enabling metals and minerals for a cleaner, greener, more sustainable world and that meet the fast growing every day demands of billions of consumers. With their people at the heart of its business, they use innovative practices and the latest technologies to discover new resources and to mine, process, move and market their products to customers — safely and sustainably.
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