“Stage 1 of the project is fast approaching its completion and remains on track to load first coal on Panamax vessels in the first half of 2010,” an NCIG spokesperson told ILN.

Last month NCIG member companies Centennial Coal and Whitehaven Coal said they expected the terminal to be ready to load coal by April.

Whitehaven is counting on the terminal being commissioned by this time to offload the first coal production from the continuous miners at its North Narrabri mine in New South Wales’s Gunnedah Basin.

The first stage of the project will deliver 30 million tonnes of throughput capacity.

NCIG is also owned by BHP Billiton, Donaldson Coal, Peabody Energy and Felix Resources.