1.2.2.1.11 Bulga Coal Complex

The Bulga Coal Complex (Bulga Coal), approximately 12 km south-west of Singleton in the Hunter Valley, is owned by Bulga Coal Management Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Glencore (SLR Consulting Australia, 2014, p. 1). Bulga Coal consists of two coal mining operations: Bulga Open Cut and Bulga Underground. The mining activities and associated operations, which were first approved in 2001, occur on various mining leases (ML), coal leases (CL), exploration licences (EL) and mining authorities (AUTH) (Table 4).

Table 4 Mining leases at Bulga Coal Complex for the Hunter subregion

Data: SLR Consulting Australia Pty Ltd (2014)

^aTypes: ML = Mining Lease; MLA = Mining Lease Application; CL = Coal Lease; EL = Exploration Licence; AUTH = Authorisation

Coal production at Bulga Coal (in total combination from open-cut ROM plus underground ROM) is approved for 20 Mt/year (NSW Department of Planning and Environment, 2014b, p. 7), although annual production rates are typically about 16 Mt (Bulga Coal, n.d.). A proposed expansion plan aims to access 205 Mt of coal from the complex (NSW Department of Planning and Environment, 2014b, p. 2). Coal resources of the Bulga Coal Complex were reported in 2013 as 1150 Mt (measured), 610 Mt (indicated) and 800 Mt (inferred) (GlencoreXstrata, 2013, p. 49). The Bulga Open Cut Mine area includes the CHPP for Bulga Coal. The Bulga Underground Operations area incorporates the Blakefield South Mine and the approved (though yet to commence) Blakefield North Underground Mine. The CHPP and rail loading facility are in the north-east of the Bulga Coal Complex and service both open-cut and underground operations (SLR Consulting Australia, 2014, p. 1). Coal produced at the complex is semi-soft coking coal and thermal coal, which is railed to the Port of Newcastle for export to China and Japan, predominantly for steel making and energy generation (Bulga Coal, n.d.).

Bulga Coal operates under a single, annually renewed Environmental Protection Licence (EPL) 563, which specifies requirements for local air quality, blasting and surface water monitoring. The EPL enables water discharge off site in accordance with Hunter River Salinity Trading Scheme. The Bulga Coal Complex currently has 13 groundwater licences (including seven monitoring bores, five dewatering mining licences and one mining, underground workings) and nine surface water licences totalling up to 1323 ML (SLR Consulting Australia, 2014, p. 3).

Bulga Open Cut Mine

Bulga Open Cut Mine operates a dragline, truck and shovel operation, using excavators and front-end loaders to target the Redbank Creek, Blakefield, Glen Munro and Woodlands Hill coal members of the Wittingham Coal Measures (Bulga Coal, n.d.). It is approved to operate until 2025, extracting up to 12.2 Mt/year of ROM coal (NSW Department of Planning and Environment, 2014a, p. 1) within the 20 Mt/year ROM allowed across the complex (NSW Department of Planning and Environment, 2014b, p. 7). Coal reserves have been reported as 190 Mt (proved) and 17 Mt (probable) (GlencoreXstrata, 2013, p. 50). The Bulga Optimisation Project received NSW PAC development consent on 1 December 2014 to produce 12.2 Mt/yr ROM coal until 31 December 2035 (NSW Department of Planning and Environment, 2014d). An extensive water management and water re-use system is in place at Bulga Open Cut. The 2014 approval includes an additional environmental dam and new discharge point in addition to an extensive range of biodiversity offsets (NSW Department of Planning and Environment, 2015e, p.14).

Bulga Underground Mine

Bulga Underground Mine is a longwall mining operation that targets the Whybrow, Blakefield, Glen Munro and Woodlands Hill coal members (Bulga Coal, n.d.). Individual seams are 4.5 to 8 m thick within the Blakefield South Mine; extraction thickness ranges from approximately 1.2 to 3.7 m. Longwall panels are up to 3.5 km long and 400 m wide (Bulga Coal, n.d.). Coal reserves have been reported as 130 Mt (proved) and 28 Mt (probable) (GlencoreXstrata, 2013, p. 50). Bulga Underground Operations began longwall mining in 2010 at Blakefield South Mine, which is currently mining in longwall panel 5 and where extraction of longwall panel 7 is scheduled to commence in November 2015 (Glencore, 2015b, page 3). Preparation is underway to mine the Blakefield Coal Member to the north of current operations (known as the Blakefield North Longwall Modification, under Bulga Coal Continued Underground Operations consent). Development at Blakefield North is scheduled to commence in 2016, with mining to start in 2018 (Bulga Coal, n.d.).

Bulga Underground Mine is approved to operate until 2031 and can extract up to 14 Mt/year of ROM coal (NSW Department of Planning and Environment, 2014b, p. 7) although extraction of coal across the whole complex must not exceed 20 Mt/year (NSW Department of Planning and Environment, 2014b, p. 7). An application to modify Bulga Underground (DA 376-8-2003) was submitted in 2012 (SLR Consulting Australia, 2014, p. 1–2), the Blakefield North Longwall Modification, and was subsequently approved by the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure in October 2013 (SLR Consulting Australia, 2014, p. 1). The modified plans include realignment of the previous longwall layout, increase of gas drainage infrastructure, relocation of mine ventilation fans and addition of a small-scale power plant (up to 32 MW) (SLR Consulting Australia, 2014, p. 1–2).