Regional Coal: New Hope suspends S.E Queensland production activities

Australian coal mining firm New Hope Corporation Limited announced on Tuesday that production activities at all its operations have been suspended, following very substantial rainfall in South East Queensland over the past 48 hours.

?At present no flood damage has occurred to the mine sites, however, damage to transport infrastructure is currently being assessed,? the company said in a statement.

As rain is continuing to fall in the region and further rains are forecasted New Hope is currently unable to provide an estimate of the full impact of this adverse weather, it said.

According to the company?s website, New Hope has two open cut mines - New Acland and New Oakleigh - located in South East Queensland, producing thermal coal supplied to a wide range of domestic and export customers.

The New Acland mine has produced 4.7 million tonnes of the 5.9 million tonnes of coal sales in the company's financial year ended July 2010. The company's West Moreton mines at New Oakleigh and Jeebropilly produced around 1.2 million tonnes of coal in the 2009-10 financial year.

The company said in its website that approximately 65 percent of New Hope's coal sales are exported to customers in a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific area, with the remaining 35 percent being sold domestically for electricity production and to a wide variety of general industry processors and manufacturers. New Hope exports its coal through its 50 percent-owned export ship loading facility at Queensland Bulk Handling (QBH) at the Port of Brisbane. (denny)