Ensham coal sales marketing general manager Allan Dawson said the milestone was reached despite major flooding which devastated the mine in January.

Production at Ensham is currently around half capacity at 350,000 tonnes per month as a result of river water which remains trapped in two of the mine’s largest and most valuable coal pits.

Efforts to pump water from the flooded pits continue around the clock.

“Provided we encounter no unexpected setbacks, we hope to have the flooded pits emptied, dried and stabilised to allow the resumption of normal production by the end of the first quarter of 2009," Ensham CEO John Pegler said.

“This includes the repair of our flooded dragline which is about to be moved out of the pit for a complete refit after being underwater for three months between January and April this year.”

In addition to removing the floodwater, Ensham needs to restore the pits to operating condition, restore lost haul roads and replace flood protection levees which were swept away in January’s unprecedented flooding.

“This has been a very time consuming and costly exercise for us, but at this stage we are determined to get the mine back to full capacity as soon as possible to meet export orders and secure the jobs of the 3000 or so people which rely on Ensham for an income,” Pegler said.