Mount Thorley Warkworth

MTW is an open cut mine, using a dragline truck and shovel method. 710 employees (as at 31 December 2008) work in shifts to keep the mine operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Operations are centred in the Wittingham Coal Measures of the Hunter Coalfield, which is part of a Permian coal basin known as the Sydney basin.

In 2008 Mount Thorley produced almost two million tonnes of thermal coal and almost one million tonnes of semi-soft coking coal. Warkworth produced more than five million tonnes of thermal coal and more than 400,000 tonnes of semi-soft coking coal.

After being washed and prepared for sale, the coal is loaded onto trains for transportation 90km to the Port Warratah coal terminal in Newcastle where it is shipped to international customers.

Mount Thorley had marketable reserves of 24 million tonnes as at 31 December 2008. Warkworth had marketable reserves of 278 million tonnes as at 31 December 2008.