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STEEL STARTS HERE: CORONADO LOOKING TO A STRONG FUTURE

02 August 2022 | BBMC News

Last week’s Rockhampton Bowen Basin Mining Club luncheon reminded attendees of the continued importance of metallurgical coal in a low-carbon future, with Douglas Thompson of Coronado presenting.

Mr Thompson, the recently appointed COO Australia, presented Coronado’s ethos, culture and strategy, and elaborated on the Company’s Curragh mine 22% growth target over the next three years, with both staff and suppliers integral to the outcomes.

“A mine is just a hole in the ground if you don’t have people around it – the team is what helps us build for the future.”

“We’re bringing everyone on the journey with us – we’re going to need technical advances and suppliers that can support us to uplift our core performance,” said Mr Thompson.

The presentation covered the next phase of growth for Curragh, now truly hitting its stride since the site’s acquisition by Coronado in 2018. This includes brownfield expansion opportunities, including the potential to expand into underground operations.

One constant driving this growth is the global demand for metallurgical coal, with seaborne demand forecast to grow by more than 30%, to over 400 million tonnes by 2050. Coronado’s Curragh mine is complemented by high-quality metallurgical coal assets in the USA, underpinning the company as one of the leading metallurgical coal producers on the planet.

“We’re quite happy to be a pure metallurgical coal player meeting the market’s ever-growing demand for steel. As one of the largest met coal producers globally, we build our business on four key areas: safety (physical and mental), responsible capital management, clever asset optimisation and strategic growth.”

When asked about the role of Coronado in a low-emissions future, Mr Thompson was positive about the need for steel in any future.

“Steel is a critical component in the transition to a low-carbon economy – and at Coronado we proudly wear our tagline: Steel Starts Here.”

“Curragh’s scalable infrastructure includes large electric fleets offering emissions leverage towards net zero. This means that our plans are not just aspirational – we’ve got projects in place that are working towards things like a net zero emissions target in 2050, starting with a 30% reduction in our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2030.”

But on a question about mining royalty hikes, Mr Thompson mentioned the elevated sovereign risk now present following the recent sudden change to the coal royalty regime implemented without consultation by the Queensland Government.

“Our team is looking to expand and while Queensland’s metallurgical coal is a great commodity, the recent royalty changes don’t send a great message to the market in terms of confidence investing in a Queensland asset. It won’t stop mining – the tonne of coal will still be mined, but sadly for Queensland it may just be mined somewhere else.”

“When we’re looking to purchase an asset, we’re looking for metallurgical assets that have added value, on-site processing, convenient port facilities, and are long life assets.”

Will this be in Queensland, or will the Curragh powerhouse remain the company’s only Queensland asset? Only time will tell. But one thing was clear – suppliers and potential suppliers to Curragh should be clear how they can add value under the ‘One Curragh Team’ approach.

As Mr Thompson says: “We’re about to find second gear and go even bigger for the second half of 2022.”

The next BBMC luncheon will be held in Mackay in September, featuring speakers from Glencore.

Tickets will go on sale soon at www.bbminingclub.com.