Anglo general manager of Dawson Mines Rick Fairhurst said 20 workers would be based at Dawson South and 23 transferred to Dawson Central.

Of the rest, he said 42 Anglo production workers would be made redundant from the pit closure and one employee had resigned having found employment elsewhere before the news.

“Dawson Management will provide the necessary support and assistance to those facing redundancy as well as finalising the transition arrangements for those people being redeployed,” he said.

Fairhurst said the closure of the north pit was likely to be mid-March.

Of the other four major mining areas of the thermal and coking coal mine, ABC News reported the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union had said the company cut a number of contractor positions at the mine to allow for the relocation of permanent staff.

International Longwall News was unable to get more details of contractor job losses from the CFMEU prior to publication.

Anglo Dawson Mines acting general manager Robert Craike in the original announcement last month said the pit closure was due to changing market conditions and demand forecasts for this year.

Anglo said there would be ongoing communication with affected stakeholders.

Dawson produces over 7 million tonnes of coking, soft coking and thermal coal annually.

The export-orientated mine is owned by the Moura Joint Venture, with 51% held by Anglo and 49% held by Mitsui Coal.