INTERNATIONAL COAL NEWS

Isaac Plains, Integra reduce Vale's coal output

VALE's coal production reached 2.1 million in the third quarter, 2.0% higher than in 2Q15 but 12....

Lou Caruana

This article is 10 years old. Images might not display.

The Integra Coal mine in New South Wales was placed in care and maintenance in 2Q14. The open cut production continued throughout 3Q14 in a reduced capacity until coal production ceased.

The Isaac Plains mine in Queensland was also placed in care and maintenance in 3Q14. The open cut production continued throughout 4Q14, until coal production ceased.

Production at Vale’s Carborough Downs longwall mine in Queensland was 730,000t in 3Q15, the highest production for a third quarter, 17.8% higher than in 3Q14 but 1.6% lower than in 2Q15.

Production at Vale’s Moatize mine in Mozambique was 1.3Mt in 3Q15, 52,000t higher than in 2Q15 despite two weeks of plant shutdown in July 2015.

September production reached 0.537Mt, driven by performance improvements in the Coal Handling Processing Plant (CHPP).

Production of metallurgical coal in Moatize reached 0.914 Mt.

The ramp-up of the first phase of the Moatize coal project is currently restricted by the logistics infrastructure – railway and port – which do not allow for the total utilization of the mine’s nominal capacity of 11Mtpa, according to Vale.

The greenfield sections of the railway are completed and the main brownfield section of the railway reaching 86% physical completion. Vale expects railway construction to be over by December.

The Nacala Logistics Corridor (NLC) has transported 2,760 wagons and discharged 150 kt of coal at the port.

The Port stacker that collapsed at the Nacala port on July 19th should be commissioned in April 2016, not impacting the port´s ramp up curve.

With the ramp-up of the NCL, the logistics bottleneck will be gradually eliminated, according to Vale.

TOPICS:

Expert-led Insights reports built on robust data, rigorous analysis and expert commentary covering mining Exploration, Future Fleets, Automation and Digitalisation, and ESG.

Expert-led Insights reports built on robust data, rigorous analysis and expert commentary covering mining Exploration, Future Fleets, Automation and Digitalisation, and ESG.

editions

ESG Index 2025: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Index provides an in-depth evaluation of the ESG performance of 60+ of the world’s largest mining companies. It assesses companies across 10 weighted indicators within 6 essential ESG pillars.

editions

Automation and Digitalisation Insights 2025

Discover how mining companies and investors are adopting, deploying and evaluating new technologies.

editions

Mining IQ Exploration Insights 2025

Gain exclusive insights into the world of exploration in a comprehensive review of the top trending technologies, intercepts, discoveries and more.

editions

Future Fleets Insights 2025

Mining IQ Future Fleets Insights 2025 looks at how companies are using alternative energy sources to cut greenhouse gas emmissions