Coal in Australia

Australian coal is either high-quality bituminous coal (black coal) or lower-quality lignite (brown coal).[10]

Bituminous coal is mined in Queensland and New South Wales, and is used for both domestic power generation and for export. It is mined underground or open-cut before being transported by rail to power stations or export shipping terminals.[11][12] Bituminous coal was also once transported to other Australian states for power generation and industrial boilers.

Lignite is mined in Victoria and South Australia,[13] and is of lower quality due to a lower thermal value largely caused by a high water content.[14] Ash content varies significantly but some Australian lignite have relatively low ash content.[15] As a result, Victoria adopted German power station and briquette technology in the 1920s to utilise the lignite reserves of the Latrobe Valley. In 2013 coal from three open cut lignite coal mines in Victoria is used for baseload power generation.[13]

Australian coal was first discovered in New South Wales by shipwreck survivors in August 1797, at Coalcliff, north of Wollongong. George Bass discovered coal soon after in the cliffs at Newcastle off of Point Solander.[16][17]

Australian coal and coke quarterly exports ($Millions) since 1960

In 2008/09, 487 million tonnes of coal was mined, and 261 million tonnes was exported.[18]

In 2009, Australia was the fourth-highest coal producer in the world, producing 335 megatonnes (Mt) of anthracite and 64 Mt of lignite.[19] Australia was the biggest anthracite exporter, with 31% of global exports (262 Mt out of 836 Mt total). 78% of 2009 anthracite production was exported (262 Mt out of 335 Mt total). Australia's global anthracite export share was 14% of all production (836 Mt out of 5,990 Mt total).[20]

In 2011, coal exports were Australia's second-largest source of export income, after iron ore exports.[21] In 2011, coal exports were worth A$47 billion Australian dollars, or US$47.8 billion, with US$15.6 billion coming from exports of thermal coal for power stations.[21] Coking coal generated A$22.4 billion of export revenue in 2012/13 financial year with thermal coal bringing in A$16.1 billion during the same period.[22]

According to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences in 2011 the economically demonstrated reserves to production ratios for bituminous coal and lignite in Australia are 111 years and 539 years respectively. However, these figures do not account for growth in production.[23] Bituminous coal exports from Australia have been growing at a rate of 5% (on average during the last 20 years). If this rate of growth would-be maintained to extinction all current economically demonstrated black coal in the country would be depleted in under 40 years. However, continued growth at that rate is unlikely to occur for such a long period, and this estimate does not reflect growth in the demonstrated resource. Explorations in the last decade has resulted in a significant increase in inferred coal resources which are now almost double the economically demonstrated resource.[24]

In 2010–11, Australia was the fifth largest producer of coal, and by proportion exported, and was the second largest exporter of coal in the world,[25] with most of the exports going to Japan. Total production of bituminous coal in Australia was 405 million tonnes (Mt.), down from 471 Mt. in 2009–10. The drop was largely as a result of the Queensland floods of January 2011 where production declined from an expected 200 Mt. to 163 Mt.[26]

In 2013/14, 430.9 million tonnes of coal was mined, of which 375.1 million tonnes was exported.[27] Coal provides fuel for about 69% of electricity production in Australia.[25] The Latrobe Valley in Victoria produced 98.5% of Australia's total brown coal production of 57.8 Mt, down from 66.7 Mt in 2001–2, none of which was exported.

In 2013, Australia was the world's fifth-largest coal producer, after China, the United States, India, and Indonesia. However, in terms of proportion of production exported, Australia was the world's second largest coal exporter, with exports accounting for roughly 73% of coal production. Indonesia exports about 87% of its coal production.[25]

In 2016, Australia was the biggest net exporter of coal, with 32% of global exports (389 Mt out of 1,213 Mt total). It was still the fourth-highest producer with 6.9% of global production (503 Mt out of 7,269 Mt total). 77% of production was exported (389 Mt out of 503 Mt total).[4]

The following table lists the major Australian Coal mines.[28]

The Port of Newcastle, New South Wales, is the world's largest and most efficient coal handling operation through its two terminals: Carrington and Kooragang. Australia has nine major coal-export ports,[31] including:

September 2019 climate strike in Tumbarumba, Australia

The Australian community is understandably concerned about any mining activity that could place private or public property or valuable landscapes at risk.[36] The coal industry claims however that extensive rehabilitation of areas mined helps to ensure that land capability, after coal mining, meets agreed and appropriate standards.[37]

Coal is the principal fossil fuel used in power generation not only in Australia but in many other countries. Links between coal mining, coal burning, and climate change are being discussed widely in Australia.[38][39]

On 27 November 2006 the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales judge Justice Nicola Pain made the decision to set aside the Director-General's acceptance of the Environmental Assessment for the Anvil Hill coal mine,[40] on the grounds that it did not include a comprehensive greenhouse gas assessment, even though the proposed mining of coal was for export. However, on 7 June 2007 the planning minister for NSW Frank Sartor reversed this decision and approved the mine, attaching a list of 80 conditions to the mines operation including conservation offsets.[41]

The Federal Government has, as part of its pledge to mitigate global warming,[44] committed A$100 million to commission a climate change-fighting "clean coal" and carbon sequestration research institute to make Australia a leader in this emerging technology. As of 2014 carbon sequestration technology was not expected to be commercially viable for at least 5 to 10 years,[45] but the Federal Labor government argues that it is a vital technology given Australia's reliance on coal-fired electricity.[46] The merits of "clean coal" have been highly disputed by some technical experts[47] and environment awareness groups.[48]

• Carbon capture and storage in Australia
• Coal companies of Australia
• Coal phase out
• Greenhouse Mafia
• Hunter Valley Coal Chain
• List of coal fired power stations in Australia
• Mining in Australia
• Mitigation of global warming in Australia
• Coastal coal-carrying trade of New South Wales

• "Illawarra Coal" - An unofficial history of coal mining in the Illawarra
• Survey of Energy Resources 2007 for Australia