Qld miner collapses as coal crisis strikes
The future of a Queensland coal miner is on the rocks amid mounting financial pressure on the sector.
Gold Coast-headquartered Vitrinite Group, the operator of the Vulcan Mine in the Bowen basin, about 150 kilometres south-west of Mackay, has called in administrators to the group’s six companies.
According to the Vitrinite website, the privately-owned company had been investing heavily “in groundbreaking highwall mining technology and have mapped out a strategic growth plan for our next generation of assets, including the Callan Coking Coal, Karin Basin and Wilson Creek projects”.
It said production at the Vulcan mine had scaled from “two to five million tonnes per annum” since 2018.
“Vitrinite is not just a part of the Australian coal industry; we are shaping its future,” the website said.
But in correspondence to creditors dated February 24, KordaMentha revealed that it had been appointed as receivers and managers.
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“We are conducting an urgent assessment of the position of the company and the options available,” the letter said.
“(We) will provide further details and information on the pathway forward as soon as possible.”
It comes as the sector continues to battle against lower prices and unforgiving royalty taxes.
This month, mining giant BHP conceded it was facing “acute challenges” in Queensland because it was paying more in taxes and royalties than it was making in profits.
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It has mothballed its Saraji East mining project, also in the Bowen Basin, and cut hundreds of jobs.
Queensland’s coal royalty regime has been cited as the reason for a series of shutdowns.
Under the scheme, miners pay a 20 per cent royalty for prices above $175 a tonne, 30 per cent for prices above $225 a tonne, and 40 per cent for prices above $300 a tonne.
Royalty rates in other jurisdictions are typically in the single digits; in NSW, coal producers can be charged as little as 8.8 per cent, depending on the type of mine.
A spokesperson Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dale Last said: “Our thoughts are with the workers and their families following the decision of privately-owned Vitrinite Group.”
“Queensland is open for business with an unchanged, stable royalty regime – exactly as we promised – and we are banging down doors across the country and the globe to secure new investment after a decade of uncertainty under Labor that drove investment off a cliff.”
Vitrinite was contacted for comment.
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