India’s Adani Group to start loading first shipment from its Queensland coal mine

The Indian giant is set to load its first coal shipment from its Carmichael mine in Queensland following a tumultuous 11 years.

Protesters opposed to Adani’s Carmichael coal mine have waged a strenuous campaign to stop its construction. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

India’s Adani Group says it is about to start loading its first shipment of coal from the controversial Carmichael coal mine, with the first export vessel set to leave Australia within days.

Bravus Mining and Resources - the trading name of Adani Mining - said on Wednesday the first shipment from Carmichael was sitting in stockpiles at the company’s port facilities in Bowen, ready for loading onto an export vessel and sent to its first customer.

Bravus chief executive David Boshoff said the thermal coal had been delivered to the port as part of the testing and commissioning of the company’s rail fleet.

“This is a big moment for everyone who has worked so diligently and passionately to build this mine and its world-class supporting civil and commercial infrastructure,” Mr Boshoff said in a statement.

Mr Boshoff said the Carmichael Project had generated more than 2,600 jobs during the mine’s construction phase, and spent more than $1bn with regional Queensland contractors and businesses.

“High-quality Australian coal will have a role to play, alongside renewables, for decades to come as part of an energy mix that delivers reliable and affordable power with reduced emissions intensity,” he said

The shipment comes after an 11-year struggle with a wildly swinging coal price and pitched battles with environmental activists that put the central Queensland coal mine at the centre of Australian political debate over climate change and carbon emissions.

It marks a major milestone in the development of the mine, bought by India’s Adani for $500m in 2010 and a royalty on production – which it bought out for $155m in 2014.

When Adani bought Carmichael, at the peak of the last mining boom, it planned to turn the deposit into the biggest thermal coal mine in Australia, drawing up $16.5bn plans for a 60 million tonne a year operation that would open up Queensland’s Galilee Basin to nearby deposits.

After a long struggle to find funding for the massive mine, which the sprawling group’s billionaire founder Gautam Adani planned to use to supply India’s coal-fired electricity generation fleet, in 2018 Adani rejigged its plans for the mine.

Instead of the operations initially planned, the company said it would fund construction of a slimmed down, 10 million tonne a year operation at an estimated cost of about $2bn.

Accounts filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in July show that the operating arm of the mine, Adani Mining, owed $1.8bn in loans from its parent companies at the end of March, as well as $394.6m in advances from a related party on the delivery of coal.

Work began in 2020 on construction of the mine and the rail spur needed to connect Carmichael to Bravus’ port facilities at Bowen, but construction has been plagued by opposition from environmental activists.

The sustained “Stop Adani” campaign – which became a major political talking point during the 2019 federal election – scared off lenders, insurers and major engineering firms from backing construction of the mine.

Direct action by campaigners, who have blocked railway lines and prevented equipment from being moved onto site, slowed and interrupted work.

Campaigners have also repeatedly taken legal action against the mine to challenge aspects of its approval and agreements with traditional owners.

The timing of its entry into the market could not be better for the Indian company, however, with coal prices still hovering above $US150 a tonne in December and exports to India set to boom over the next year.

Bravus CEO David Boshoff at the Carmichael mine during preparations there. Picture: Cameron Laird

“We have already secured the market for the 10 million tonnes per annum of coal that will be produced at the Carmichael mine,” an Adani spokesman said.

“That coal will be sold at index-adjusted pricing, meaning all taxes and royalties will be paid in Australia.”

Adani has built up $1.32bn in unused tax losses against Carmichael, according to its most recent financial statements, which said “it is not likely that taxable income will be earned in the foreseeable future”.

Analysts at ratings agency S&P Global said last week that India – believed to be the primary market for Carmichael – could become the world’s biggest importer of thermal coal in 2022.

“Despite higher domestic consumption, China’s thermal coal imports are expected to decline in 2022, as domestic production will increase by an even larger extent, as policymakers press for more self-sufficiency,” S&P analysts said in a research report.

“At the same time, the import constraints India encountered in 2021, such as record high coal prices and freight rates, will be less severe in 2022, allowing imports to increase strongly to meet higher domestic demand and rebuild depleted stockpiles.”