With the Burton steelmaking coal complex officially reopened, the Queensland Government said the project could lead to job opportunities for regional Queenslanders in the resources sector.
The Burton complex is located 42 kilometres northeast of Moranbah, a coal mining town in Queensland, and contains the Broadmeadow East open-cut mine and several unmined coal deposits.
The Burton complex primarily produces steelmaking coal for exporting. It is currently producing 1.1 million tonnes per annum, with coal being transported to the nearby Dalrymple Bay Coal terminal to ship across the world.
In January, the first coal from the Broadmeadow East mine was shipped from the Dalrymple Bay Coal terminal, as reported in the Bowen Coking Coal’s December quarterly report for the 2022 financial year.
The Queensland government said the Burton complex is expected to produce up to 4.5 million tonnes of mainly steelmaking coal every year once it reaches full capacity.
Minister for Resources Scott Stewart said Queensland has high quality resources and projects like the Burton complex will bring job opportunities to the Queensland resources sector.
“I want to congratulate Bowen Coking Coal for their continued investment in this project, which has already seen coal produced and shipped from the Broadmeadow East mine,” Stewart said.
“Queensland has high quality resources, a skilled workforce and world-class infrastructure but it takes investors to turn these into jobs and business opportunities in our regional communities.”
Member for Mackay in the Queensland Legislative Assembly Julieanne Gilbert said the reopening of the Burton complex is great news for Mackay and central Queensland.
“This is a sign of strong confidence in Queensland’s resources sector, including our state’s large deposits of high-quality steelmaking coal,” Gilbert said.