Thiess to expand coal production

Jellinbah Resources has awarded Thiess, a subsidiary of the Leighton Group, a contract expansion worth AU$ 550 million, at the Lake Vermont coal mine near Dysard in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.

Thiess will use their mining engineering, operations and plant expertise to increase production at the mine from 6 million tpa to 8 million tpa, increasing the annual capacity of the mine over the remaining five years of the current contract.

Jellinbah CEO, Greg Chalmers, said the mine owners were pleased with the opportunity to be able to extend the mine capacity through the partnership with Thiess.

Profitable future

“The additional production at Lake Vermont Coal Mine will ensure we maintain a profitable future for the mine. By working closely with Thiess’ we believe we can deliver the efficiencies required to ensure the mine remains competitive on a global scale and provide a small boost to the economy at a local, state and national level,” Chalmers said.

Thiess’ Managing Director, Bruce Munro, added: “We continue to work with our client Jellinbah Resources to reduce costs and safely improve productivities [sic] across every aspect of the mining operations, from plant and equipment to local sourcing and empowering our people.

“By focusing on efficiencies and productivity we can deliver sustainable production in the long term for our clients and reposition the Bowen Basin as a globally competitive producer”, Munro continued.

Leighton Holdings CEO, Hamish Tyrwhitt, said the agreement highlights the capability of the Leighton Group: “Such a successful partnership sends a very positive signal to the market and demonstrates the value the Leighton Group delivers for our clients”.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/mining/22112013/thiess_coal_expansion_288/