QCoal has announced that the second and last production unit at the Cook Colliery underground mine near Blackwater in Queensland will cease operations today.
Increased production costs and market pressures and the current royalty regime have forced independent Queensland coal miner QCoal to close Cook Colliery in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.
Cook Colliery is operated by Core Crew on behalf of QCoal and employed approximately 170 workers. QCoal closed the first unit in September this year due to cost pressures, costing approximately 80 jobs.
Today’s decision means the underground coal mine will now go into care and maintenance with the loss of a further 70 jobs.
QCoal said the difficult decision to close Cook Colliery comes after the company purchased the mine in 2020 and reopened it for production in 2022.
“Unfortunately Cook Colliery has been adversely affected by high production costs and low coal prices, and its ongoing operation is unsustainable,” a QCoal spokesman said today.
Cook Colliery contributed $25 million in royalties to the Queensland Government since its March 2022 reopening, despite never making a profit in that time.
“The current royalty regime in Queensland also makes it very difficult to justify the continued operation of loss-making mines.”
For more information contact Head of Communications Paul Turner on pturner@qcoal.com.au or via phone on 07 3002 2900 or mobile 0408 850 270.