Bravus quashes Carmichael mine expansion rumours

This follows media speculation that Bravus was expanding the Carmichael coal site to 55 million tonnes a year mine.

“Just like other coal producers in Queensland, we are required to provide various planning documents to the state government to ensure we comply with our regulatory obligations,” a Bravus spokesperson told Australian Mining.

“We are in the process of constructing a 10 million tonne per annum mine, in line with financial approvals provided by our board.”

Bravus lodged its late development plan in April 2018, prior to its announcement that the company was scaling the mine size back to 10 million tonnes a year as endorsed by the Bravus board.

The company has already secured the market for the 10 million tonnes per annum of coal produced at the Carmichael mine to meet growing demand for thermal electricity in India and South East Asia.

“The coal will be sold at index pricing and we will not be engaging in transfer pricing practices, which means that all of our taxes and royalties will be paid here in Australia,” the spokesperson said.

“Furthermore, due to the high quality of our coal and the low strip ratio, Carmichael coal is in the lowest cost quartile, which means the economics are good and we can be profitable through the cycles.”

Bravus also intends to ensure land disturbed by mining activities is rehabilitated to a safe and stable landform that does not cause adverse environmental damage.

“Bravus’ Carmichael mine has outlined its planned approach to rehabilitation of disturbed areas throughout the approval process. This approach has been approved by both state and federal regulators in 2014,” the spokesperson said.

“Progressive rehabilitation will be undertaken, which involves the staged restoration of disturbed areas during the exploration, construction or development and resource extraction phases of a mining project, instead of large-scale works at the end of operations.”

Adani announced the rebrand of its Australian operations last week to celebrate 10 years of operation in Australia.

First production from the Carmichael coal mine is expected next year.