QCoal, Core Crew Underground slow down production at Cook Colliery mine
Another Qld mine will be slowing down its production, blaming low prices and underperformance for the need to drop workers.
The third Queensland miner in three days has announced it will be laying off staff as high production costs and low prices bite into margins.
The Cook Colliery mine employs 170 people, is owned by QCoal and operated by Core Crew Underground.
Director Michael Nucifora sent a letter to staff this morning on the intention to transition from two continuous miner units to one at the mine.
Combined with 750 projected job losses at BHP, and roughly 150 redundancies expected at Anglo American — partly due to the shutdown of Grosvenor — it makes for the headline figure of 1000 jobs at risk in coal mining.
Leaders in the industry have pointed the finger at the state’s royalty regime, biting on top of market conditions.
And while a QCoal spokesperson said royalties played a role in Cook Colliery’s sustainability, they were not mentioned in the letter to staff.
Staff were told the change was being considered for two reasons: prolonged low coal prices, and ongoing underperformance against targets.
While no decision on staffing redundancies have been made, according to the letter, it notes a consultation period ending on October 1, and answers given by October 3.
In a statement to media, a QCoal spokesman said “Cook Colliery has been affected by high production costs, high taxes and royalties and low coal prices and its ongoing operation at its current levels is unsustainable”.
Cook Colliery employs approximately 170 workers, and QCoal said the mine has paid $25m in royalties, but is yet to turn a profit.
It was shut in 2019 on the week before Christmas by the previous owners, purchased by QCoal in 2020 and reopened in 2022.
The soon-to-be mothballed Saraji South mine also re-opened in 2020, and captured the peaking coal due to the war in Ukraine.
Cook Colliery was first opened in 1970, and QCoal has a permit to mine the site until 2046.
Mr Nucifora was contacted for comment.
