Fire shuts Anglo American’s Australian coking coal mine

UK-South African mining firm Anglo American has closed its 5mn t/yr Grosvenor coking coal mine in the Bowen basin region of Australia's Queensland, after a fire broke out underground.

The methane gas ignition occurred on 29 June and it is likely to take several months before the mine can restart given the damage underground, according to Anglo American. Independent regulator Resources, Safety and Health Queensland said it was assisting the firm to safely seal the mine on 1 July.

Grosvenor was expected to deliver 1.2mn t of coal in July-December, down from 2.3mn t in January-June, because of a planned longwall move in the second half of 2024. Anglo American's steelmaking coal business was budgeted to produce 15mn-17mn t of coking coal in 2024 and the firm will update this guidance as more information becomes available.

Anglo American is looking to exit its coal mining operations in Australia, after rejecting a takeover offer from Australian mining firm BHP. It has struggled to manage the build-up of methane from its Queensland mines over the past few years. Operations at Australia's Moranbah North mine was closed from March-May 2022, after a fatal accident raised safety concerns. The producer also stalled operations at the Grosvenor mine in May 2020 because of gas ignition issues.

Argus assessed the premium hard low-volatile coking coal price at $234/t fob Australia on 28 June, down from a year-to-date high of $336.25/t on 12 January.

By Jo Clarke

Australian metallurgical coal prices ($/t)