Drayton

The Drayton open cut coal mine in New South Wales began production in 1983 and today produces around five million tonnes of thermal coal each year that is exported to north Asian countries for power generation.

The Drayton Mine Employs Over 300 Personnel
The Drayton Mine is located between the Upper Hunter Valley towns of Singleton, 34 kilometres to its south, and Muswellbrook, 13 kilometres to its north. It is 200 kilometres from Sydney and 100 kilometres from the port at Newcastle. It is operated by 300 employees with the use of a dragline, excavators and a large truck fleet.

Drayton is owned by Anglo American
The Drayton open cut thermal coal mine mine is majority owned by Anglo American through Anglo Coal Australia with joint venture partners, Mitsui Coal Development (Australia) Pty Ltd, Mitsui Mining Australia Pty Ltd, Daesung Australia Limited and Hyundai Australia Pty Ltd. The operation of the mine is carried out by Anglo American. A mine extension was approved in February 2008 that gave the Drayton Mine the ability to increase annual production levels to 8 million tonnes a year until 2017. The approval allowed the commissioning of new infrastructure and the development of various management plans.

The Drayton Deposit is one of Many Significant Coal Deposits in the Hunter Valley
The Drayton Mine is situated near the Saddlers Creek thermal coal deposit in the Sydney Basin Region of the Hunter Valley, an area containing one of the most significant coal deposits in Australia. It is a large open pit coal mine with reserves estimated to be around 35 million tonnes as at June 30, 2011.

Drayton has Used or is Using 67 Percent of its Lease
The Drayton Mine lease is encompassed by the conveyor to the Bayswater Power Station on its southern and eastern boundary and the BHP Billiton Mount Arthur Coal Mine on its western boundary. Mining of the Drayton deposit is currently being carried out under NSW government consent that will expire in 2017. The Drayton Mine land ownership and lease-holding covers a total area of almost 2,000 hectares. Mine leases alone account for 1,767 of their tenure with around 67 percent currently being mined or having been mined in the past. In 1987, an area north of the mine containing 164 hectares was proclaimed as a wildlife refuge.

Drayton Mine Working Hand in Hand with the Community in the Hunter Valley
Although the Hunter Valley Region of New South Wales is widely recognised as an important coal mining district, it is also a growing tourist and wine growing area as well as being an important centre for thoroughbred horse breeding. It is a region that has coal mining, farming, wine growing and horse breeding thriving together with all working closely and prospering together for many years.

For more than 20 years the Drayton Coal Mine has nurtured a close working relationship with the local community surrounding its mining operations. It has formed a Community Consultative Committee that holds regular meetings and organises mine expos, forums and open days for the purposes of creating a better understanding and co-operation with community members. The Drayton Mine is also quite generous in providing donations, sponsorships and support to local community organisations that provide a service to the community.
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