Machinery stranded in the floodwaters at Cockatoo Coal's Baralaba mine west of Rockhampton. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen Source: The Courier-Mail
THE coal industry has hit a brick wall with another major miner reviewing all its expansions as exports plunge and BHP Billiton winds back its capital program.
Most thermal coal mines in Queensland are now claimed to be running at a loss.
Throughput at the ports has fallen dramatically with Dalrymple Bay down 8 per cent for the financial year and Abbot Point down 10 per cent.
The Queensland Resources Council has claimed that further job losses are certain.
It is urging the State Government to find a new way to shift a vast volume of water - the equivalent of half of Sydney Harbour - from central Queensland mines that is holding back about 25 million tonnes of production.
The water has been locked in since the 2011 floods and the industry cannot dispose of it into creeks and rivers because of environmental concerns.
The floods that filled the mines cost the industry about $7 billion and allowed US producers to take about 6 per cent of the market share.
Courier Mail
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