Anglo's Aussie coal project beats startup deadline

Seamus French, Anglo American CEO for bulk commodities

Seamus French, CEO of bulk commodities for Anglo American, said: “The Grosvenor mine project has taken more than seven-million man hours to construct, with almost 6,000 personnel inducted onto the project, and we have delivered it with an outstanding safety record and in line with our environmental obligations.

The operation in the Bowen Basin of Queensland was approved for development at the end of 2011. Anglo American expects Grosvenor to produce 3,2m saleable tonnes in 2016. At full capacity, the Grosvenor longwall is capable of producing 7,5m saleable tonnes per year. When fully ramped up, Grosvenor is expected to operate at an all in sustaining unit cost of approximately US$82 per tonne at the current exchange rate.

“We began the installation of the longwall just 24 days before its first shear and production of coal – a truly remarkable feat and a result of the team’s technical expertise and the modular approach we have taken to our underground longwall operations in Australia.

“We look forward to shipping the mine’s high quality product to our steel customers across Asia as production begins to ramp up in the months ahead. While Grosvenor may not fit Anglo American’s strategic portfolio choices, its long-term commercial attractiveness is beyond question,” French explained.