During the December 2002 quarter, the longwall was graded up to mine the upper portion of the seam to improve roof integrity while mining through a zone of in-seam shearing.

But in the month of December a roof fall on the face delayed the transition back to the seam floor. The longwall finally completed the transition to the seam floor on February 10. Production resumed at around 2,000 tonnes per day for the first week as mechanical equipment was brought back to full speed. Gympie said the build-up is in progress.

Ground conditions are better than they have been for the last six months and, Gympie expects production for the June 2003 half-year to be between 500,000 tonnes and 600,000 tonnes.

Southland is in the process of buying the near-new 90-metre longwall mining unit from the closed Moonee colliery which will be integrated into the existing 220-metre longwall unit.

The upgraded, integrated equipment would overcome the limitations of part of the current face support equipment and thus enhance reliability of operations, particularly if poor ground conditions such as those recently experienced are encountered again.

Gympie has formed a project team to have the new longwall integrated into the existing face, with any required modifications and compatibility by the start of the next longwall block (SL4) in late calendar 2003.