Thiess has been awarded a A$1.015 billion extension to its contract to operate the Mt Owen coal mine in the Upper Hunter Valley. The new agreement with mine owner Xstrata Coal runs from October 2011 until the end of 2015 and includes an option to extend by a further six months.
Managing Director David Saxelby said the contract extension adds to a very significant series of announcements including the A$5.5 billion Pakri Barwadih coal mining contract in India, making Thiess the world’s leading contract coal miner, he claims. “The extension at Mt Owen is testament to the long standing relationship with Xstrata Coal at both Mt Owen and across our other Xstrata Coal sites.”
Mining Chief Executive Bruce Munro said the contract extension with Xstrata Coal will take Thiess’ association with Mt Owen out to 20 years and is a great example of the importance Thiess places on repeat business. “Thiess will operate a total of seven mining fleets with annual material movements of around 40 million m3 (bank) of waste and 8.5 Mt ROM coal at Mt Owen.”
Situated 25 km northwest of Singleton, Mt Owen is Thiess’ largest mining operation in New South Wales. The deposit is complex and consists of multiple seams of coal dipping at angles between 2 and 45o and varying in thickness between 0.4 and 9 m. Mining is carried out to a depth of 240 m.
The deposit presents greater operational challenges than a typical strip mine, which has required Thiess to develop specialised terrace mining and through seam blasting techniques for which it is now recognised as an industry leader.