Glencore is finally closing its Newlands Northern underground coal mine, slating its shutdown for June.
The miner originally announced the site’s closure in 2014, proposing a December 2015 closure at the time due to end of mine life.
This has now been pushed to Q2 of 2016.
It is understood that a slower than first thought extraction of the final longwall panel extended the mine’s operational life for an additional six months.
“The mine has reached the end of its economic mine life and will close upon completion of the final longwall panel,” a Glencore spokesperson told Australian Mining.
“In a situation similar to the recent restructure at Collinsville, we try to give a timeline for potential closure of the mine to give workers as much time as possible to be prepared for this eventuality.”
Approximately 100 employees still work at the mine, with Glencore stating it is consulting with the remaining staff regarding opportunities for redeployment to its other operations.
Image: Daily Mercury