Australia's Coal Loading Terminals
The export coal industry in Australia is serviced by nine coal loading terminals located in Queensland and New South Wales (see table below).
As a result of expansion work in recent years, the terminals currently have a total handling capacity in excess of 330 million tonnes of coal a year with further expansion planned or in progress.
Port Capacity and Export Loadings, 2007 and 2008
(Million tonnes)
| State/Port |
Annual Capacity
2007-2008
(a) |
Export loadings
(b) (c) |
| 2006-07 |
2007-08 |
| Queensland |
| Abbot Point |
21.0 |
11.2 |
12.5 |
| Brisbane |
6.0 |
4.2 |
5.5 |
| Dalrymple Bay |
68.0 |
50.4 |
43.5 |
| Gladstone^ |
75.0 |
51.5 |
54.1 |
| Hay Point |
44.0 |
35.9 |
36.9 |
| Total Qld |
214.0 |
153.2 |
152.5 |
| New South Wales |
| Newcastle^ |
102.0 |
80.8 |
88.9 |
| Port Kembla |
16.0 |
11.9 |
12.7 |
| Total NSW |
118.0 |
92.7 |
101.6 |
| Australia |
| metallurgical coal |
na |
132.0 |
136.9 |
| thermal coal |
na |
111.6 |
115.1 |
| Total AUS |
332.0 |
243.6 |
252.0 |
^ Ports with 2 coal loading terminals.
Data Sources: (a) Annual capacity from 'Energy in Australia 2009' - ABARE. (b) State data from web-based port information. (c) Metallurgical/thermal data from ABARE. NB: The latter totals differ slightly from the port totals, due to the different data sources.
Further References/Links:
Queensland
Information on Queensland's coal ports (including web links) is summarised on the Transporting Coal page of the Deparment of Mines and Energy website.
New South Wales
Port Waratah Coal Services Limited (PWCS)
Located in the Port of Newcastle, NSW, Australia, PWCS operates the world's largest and most efficient coal handling operations through its two terminals; Carrington and Kooragang. These receive, assemble and load Hunter Valley coal for export to customers around the world.
Port Kembla Coal Terminal Limited
Situated in the Inner Harbour, the Port Kembla Coal Terminal services mines from the Southern and Western coalfields of New South Wales.
Shiploading and Blending
With more than 70 percent of Australia's annual production exported, efficient coal loading at each of the country's nine major ports is paramount. If coal is loaded quickly, ships spend less time in port and freight costs are reduced.
The loading facility is also an important buffer storage area between discharge from road or rail trucks and loading onto the ship and can blend different coals to produce the specific composition required by individual customers.
Most of the coal arrives by rail and is unloaded from wagons into receival hoppers under the track. Each is fitted with automatic discharge doors which are triggered to discharge the payload of coal, allowing a typical train to be unloaded within one hour.
From the hoppers, the coal is either loaded directly on board ship or taken by conveyor to a stockpile.
The system can also be used to blend coal as it is received. Different types of coal are laid in predetermined patterns by the stackers in a way that produces the required blends to fine tolerances when reclaimed.
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The process is made more complex by the fact that the types of coal required for the blend may arrive at different times in varying sequences and the plant is therefore controlled by a computer, which ensures that a high degree of blending efficiency is maintained. Sophisticated sampling equipment keeps check on the coal as it is received and while it is loaded so customers' specifications are precisely met.
The road and rail receival hoppers and conveyors are mostly enclosed to minimise airborne emissions. Similarly, the coal is treated with a chemical agglomerate to bind the fine particles together and prevent dust emission and all water running off the site is collected into a settling pond where the silt and coal dust settles to the bottom and is periodically removed.