Whitehaven Coal’s first production delayed

Australia’s Whitehaven Coal announced yesterday that it now expects to reach first production from its Maules Creek mine in the first quarter of 2015, slightly later than originally anticipated after an injunction to stop the mine delayed construction.

North Inland Council for the Environment sought an application in the Federal Court restricting the construction of the mine in New South Wales earlier in July this year. However, the Federal Court dismissed this injunction today, which Whitehaven said was a positive result for the company.

Construction at the site has not yet started, and the mine will take approximately 12 months to complete. Maules Creek will produce around 4 million tpy of coal in its first year of operation, with production rising to 13 million tpy over the next three years.

Whitehaven Coal was the victim of a hoax press release earlier this year, issued by a environmentalist who will face the NSW Supreme Court in November. The hoax, which was allegedly sent to media outlets claiming the ANZ Bank had withdrawn an AU$ 1.2 billion loan from Whitehaven’s Maules Creek mine on ethical grounds, temporarily caused millions of dollars to be wiped off the value of the mining giant earlier this year.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/27092013/whitehaven_coal_first_production_delayed_78/