The Moolarben mine is operating at a capacity of 8Mtpa ROM production.

However, the Moolarben Stage 2 project, which has the potential to double Moolarben production and lift Yancoal’s equity share of group production by more than 25% over a five-year horizon, is still subject to regulatory approval.

Implementation of the Stage 1 modifications will greatly improve the efficiency of mining operations within open cuts 1 and 2, reducing extraction costs, according to Yancoal.

All elements of the modification are encompassed by the Stage 1 project approval boundary.

Moolarben, 45km northeast of Mudgee, covers an area of about 11,000ha and adjoins the Ulan mine (Xstrata/ Mitsubishi) to the northwest and the Wilpinjong mine (Peabody) in the east.

Operations comprise an existing open cut mine producing export quality thermal coal and an underground thermal coal development project.

Moolarben produces several export thermal coal products with differing ash content from the open cut mine, with recoverable reserves totalling 313Mt.

It benefits from the geology of the Ulan coal seam, which has an average thickness of about 12m throughout the deposit, a low strip ratio and a relatively simple mining operation.

The low life-of-mine strip ratio of 3.3 and the 13.5Mtpa capacity Moolarben coal handling and preparation plant places the Moolarben open cut mine into the bottom half of the Australian coal mine cost curve.

Yancoal is assessing options to increase the Moolarben CHPP capacity to coincide with the start-up of mining in the underground areas.

Coal produced from the UG1 and UG2 areas does not require washing.

However, if the higher ash UG4 is mined in the future, it will require washing.

Subject to obtaining all the approvals required for Moolarben Stage 2, open cut production will increase to 13Mtpa ROM coal as open cut 4 is developed and longwall mining may start in UG1 in 2018. Total production from the mine will be 17Mtpa ROM coal when the expansion is done.

Moolarben has an established rail loop and loading facilities capable of loading trains within the required time cycle.

At full production, the Moolarben Coal Complex will have the capacity to produce 17Mtpa of ROM coal and employ about 450.