Peabody says it has successfully shipped the first product from its Centurion mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, marking another major milestone in the redevelopment of the hard coking coal mine.

The inaugural shipment was delivered to the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal and loaded for export to a customer in Asia last week. This achievement highlights Centurion’s ongoing ramp up toward higher-volume longwall production that is targeted to begin in March 2026, it says.

Jim Grech, Peabody President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Two years ago, we announced the redevelopment of this mine with a plan to transform it into a world-class operation supplying premium hard coking coal to global markets, and this week we’re delivering on that plan. This is the first strategic step in transforming Peabody into a primarily metallurgical coal producer, and we are proud of the strong progress being made.”

With a planned annual production averaging 4.7 million tons (4.3 Mt) and approximately 140 million tons of reserves, the operation has a mine life of more than 25 years.

Centurion coal is sought after for its high coke strength and low impurities, qualities that enhance steel production efficiency and support decarbonisation in the steelmaking process, according to Peabody.

Centurion is also advancing Peabody’s commitment to sustainability with predevelopment works underway for 5 MW power station at the mine supporting the project’s emission abatement goals by reusing waste gas from the coal seams.

In November, the company announced an agreement to acquire four Tier 1 steelmaking coal mines from Anglo American. The completion of that acquisition, intended for mid-2025, combined with the redevelopment of Centurion, accelerates Peabody’s strategy to reweight its global coal portfolio and cash flows to metallurgical coal, it says.