|
The
Australian Coal Industry - Selected Summary Statistics
Mines
At the end of 2006 there were
118 producing black coal mines in Australia, up from 105 at the end of 2005. By State, there were 62 (58)
mines in New South Wales, 49 (41) in Queensland, 1 (1) in
South Australia, 3 (3) in Western Australia and 3 (2) in Tasmania.
(Figures in brackets are for the previous year.)
The proportion of underground to open-cut mines
has changed markedly over the past ten years.
In 1997 the numbers were roughly even, with 58
underground and 60 open-cut mines in operation.
At the end of 2006 the number of underground mines had declined to 44 - after reaching a low-point of 37 at the end of 2004. The number of open-cut mines increased significantly to 74 over the same period. See chart below left -
Source: Australian Black Coal Statistics - Coal Services
Pty Limited and Queensland Dept. of Mines and Energy
Employment
Production employment at Australian black coal mines (both underground open-cut) peaked at 32,559 at the end of June 2006, with 30,365 employed at the end of December. Average employment for the year was 31,517.
Although the number of underground
mines has declined, employment, which reached a low-point of 7,500 at the end of 2002,
has begun to recover with almost 10,000 people employed at the end of 2006. Employment
in open-cut mines, which reached a low-point of around 10,000 in 2000, more than doubled by 2005 and has stabilised at close to 20,500 at the end of 2006.
New South Wales and Queensland
continue to account for over 96 per cent of employment
in the Australian black coal industry.
Productivity
Labour productivity at Australian black coal
mines has been rising steadily over the past decade,
reaching a peak around 2001 and 2002, and declining slightly thereafter. See chart >
 Measured
in terms of output of raw coal per employee per
hour, productivity at open-cut mines has consistently
been approximately double that at underground
mines. However, both have experienced similar increases
in productivity over the
past decade - from:
- 3.5 to 4.6 tonnes at underground mines
- 7.1 to 8.5 tonnes at open-cut mines, and
- 5.5 to 7.1 tonnes for all mines
Source: Australian Black Coal Statistics - Coal Services
Pty Limited and Queensland Dept. of Mines and Energy
Exploration
 Private
exploration expenditure for coal in financial
year 2006-07 was $A193.2 million - an increase of $26.8 million or 16% over the 2005-06 figure of $A166.4 million - and almost four times the $A50.4 million expended in 2001-02.
Coal's share of total energy exploration expenditure
($A2.5 bn in 2006-07) has also steadily increased over this period, from 5.4% in 2001-02 to 7.6% in 2006-07.
* Financial Year ended 30 June. Source: ABARE
New Coal Projects and Expansions - October 2007
- Completed:
13 coal projects - 6 in New South Wales and 7 in Queensland - were completed in the six months to April 2007, with a total capital expenditure of $1.6 billion. A further 4 (3 in Qld, 1 in NSW) were completed between April and October 2007, bringing the total for the year ending October 2007 to 17 projects with capital expenditure of around $1.95 billion.
- Advanced:
19 coal mine and infrastructure projects - 6 in New South Wales and 13 in Queensland - were at an advanced stage (committed or underway) with an estimated capital expenditure value of $6.8 billion.
- Less Advanced:
An additional 50 black coal projects - 16 in NSW and 34 in Qld - were at a less advanced stage, with a value in excess of $14.5 billion.
Source: ABARE - Major Australian Minerals & Energy Development Projects - April and October 2007 Listings.
Other Statistics
See: Resources;
Production; Consumption; Exports; Coal Loading
Ports; Facts Sheets
|
