UK-South African mining firm Anglo American has restarted its 6.5mn t/yr Moranbah North hard coking coal mine in Australia’s Queensland, two months after a contractor died in a workplace accident on 26 March.
The accident stalled the longwall mine at Moranbah North but mining started in the new longwall on 28 May. The fatality raised more concerns about safety in the Queensland underground coal mining industry. Anglo American has faced significant scrutiny since a gas ignition at its 5mn t/yr Grosvenor metallurgical coal mine in Queensland injured five workers in May 2020, which led to the mine being closed until February 2022.
The closure of Moranbah North and the slow production ramp-up of the nearby Grosvenor mine prompted Anglo American to cut its output guidance for 2022 to 17mn-19mn t from 20mn-22mn and to raise its cost guidance to $85/t from $80/t earlier this month. Disruptions at these two mines also forced the firm to cut its 2021 guidance to 14mn-16mn t from 18mn-20mn t.
The Moranbah mine was restarted in June last year after being closed for four months because of elevated gas levels but difficult geological conditions led to below expected production during July-December. Coking coal production across Queensland and the neighbouring state of New South Wales have been affected by flooding caused by above average rainfall, which is forecast to continue until November.
Premium hard coking coal peaked above $660/t fob Australia in mid-March, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict increased demand for non-Russian metallurgical coal before easing over the past two months, albeit still being significantly above long-term averages. Argus last assessed the premium hard low-volatile coking coal price at $470.35/t fob Australia on 27 May, down from a peak of $664/t on 15 March but up from $151.60/t a year earlier.
Source: Argus Media