1.2.2 Current activity and tenements

Summary

In the Central West subregion there is one mining operation currently extracting coal. Owned by Glencore plc, the Ulan Mine Complex is 1.5 km north of Ulan Village in the Western Coalfields of NSW. Mining has taken place in the Ulan area since the 1920s. Ulan Coal Mines Limited (UCML) currently holds several mining leases that intersect the Central West subregion. The Ulan Mine Complex has two approved underground mining operations (Ulan No. 3 and Ulan West) and one open-cut operation. The mining complex is at the western limit of the geological Sydney Basin at the southern end of the geological Gunnedah Basin. The complex currently operates 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Approximately 7.2 Mt of coal was extracted from the Ulan Mine Complex in 2013. Coal is of high quality with low sulfur, and most coal is sold as thermal coal in the export market with some also supplied to the domestic market for power generation.

No commercial coal seam gas (CSG) extraction is currently occurring in the Central West subregion. Any past or present CSG exploration activities are described in Section 1.2.3– Proposals and exploration.

Last updated:
5 January 2018