"The opening of the Emerald facility boosts the number of our laboratories in Queensland to six (16 worldwide) and ensures we have the best geographic spread of any laboratory group servicing the Queensland coal industry," CCI executive chairman John Cannane said.
"As the continuing expansion of coal production in the Bowen Basin of Queensland has resulted in an increase in exploration programs, CCI's Emerald laboratory has been designed as a centre of excellence for coal exploration analysis. As such, it will provide a variety of important services for our growing client base and be a major profit contributor to the CCI Group."
Services include detailed ply analysis of bore cores drilled in the field, washability analysis (to determine how coal reacts when put through a wash plant) and the analysis of composite samples to determine the quality of coal destined for export.
Cannane said the new facility would also concentrate on environmental technologies following the tightening of Occupational Health and Safety legislation spanning the coal mining industry.
"Health and safety issues have become paramount in the minds of mine operators and this means that CCI's environmental chemists will undertake increased testing of water, dust, air and noise monitoring."
