Illawarra Coal president Colin Bloomfield said that during the past 12 months remnant pillars had been extracted using the longwall method after the completion of full-scale mining a couple of years ago.

“All the coal that can be economically recovered will be extracted by early next year,” Bloomfield said.

“A local company, Delta Mining, has completed this work and has done a magnificent job with excellent safety and production performance.”

Delta Mining managing director Glyn Dawkins said the training and experience employees had gained at the mine had been first class.

“This has provided a great opportunity for many young people to start a coal mining career,” he said.