#4 Cessnock to Millfield
Austar Coal Mine
Is a Coal mine that is about 10km southwest of Cessnock. It is a deep underground coal mine.
The mine is co-owned by an Australian-Chinese partnership. It is owned by Yancoal Australian Limited and was bought in December 2004. The name changed from Yancoal to Austar.
Austar started mining in April 2005. It introduced a new technique, Longwall Top Coal Caving (LTCC) in 2006.This technique is good for thick seams and it allows for 80% more coal mined from the seam.
This mine produces a premium coking coal. Once coal is mined it goes to a coal handling and preparation plant where it gets crushed and washed ready for export.
Washed coal is transported by rail to the port of Newcastle which is 65km away. It is then shipped to various places in the world.
This is an easy find.