Rolleston

The Rolleston coal mine is owned as a joint venture partnership that includes Xstrata Coal Queensland Pty Ltd (75 percent) which is a fully owned subsidiary of Glencore Xstrata, Sumisho Coal Australia Pty Ltd and IRCA Rolleston which both have a 12.5 percent share each.

Rolleston is Glencore Xstrata's Latest Mining Venture in Australia
The mine is located 275 kilometres west of Gladstone in the Bowen Basin
Region and 16 kilometres from the Central Highlands Queensland town of the same name, Rolleston. It is the latest coal mine to be developed by giant mining company Glencore Xstrata in Australia. It began production in 2005 and produced over one million tonnes of thermal coal is its first four months of operation.

Rolleston Mine is an Open Cut Thermal Coal Mining Operation
The Rolleston Mine is worked as an open cut operation, mining thermal coal from coal seams that are expected to produce coal at the current rate of production, eight million tonnes annually, for the next 20 years. Of the coal produced at the Rolleston Mine, two million tonnes is sold on the domestic market each year, primarily to the Gladstone power station for electricity generation and six million tonnes is exported to Asian customers, out of the port at Gladstone, 423 kilometres away. Rolleston coal is renown for its low ash content and this coupled with its low strip ratio makes it one of the lowest cost mining operations in Australia.

Rolleston Project Acquired by Xstrata From MIM in 2003
Xstrata acquired the Rolleston Coal Project from MIM (Mount Isa Mines) in mid 2003, however, the project was placed on hold for 12 months while Xstrata undertook a detailed evaluation of the development. Approval to proceed was finally granted in early 2004 and construction began shortly after. There are 173 million tonnes of coal reserves at the Rolleston mine that have been identified to date.

Rolleston Expansion Remains on the Cards
Xstrata Coal, along with its joint venture partners, are seriously contemplating an expansion program at the Rolleston Mine. If it goes ahead it will expand the life of the mine a further 20 years extending it out to 2045 and allow for a production increase that would bring total coal production to 20 million tonnes of thermal coal a year. The new mining lease application would cover an area of 12,500 hectare. The expansion would also increase job opportunities in the area and improve economic growth generally through increased support given to local businesses. The Expansion Project Planning has already commenced at the initial stage with the undertaking of an environmental impact assessment having been commissioned, a major step in project approval requirements.

Further development of the Rolleston coal mine has been forecast to benefit the economy by around $170 million a year which equates to $3.4 billion for the life of the mine. At full production it is estimated it would require a further 150 permanent personnel to be employed with the normal flow on benefit to the local economy.

As the Rolleston coal mine is located near a State National Park it is important that its ecosystem restoration project remains part of the project consent conditions. This particular program commits Xstrata Coal to the reinstatement of important grassland communities as part of its rehabilitation strategy.

Note- GlencoreXstrata was formed following a merger of Glencore International and Xstrata, the merger was completed in May 2013. But a decision was made by the Company's shareholders during the annual general meeting and the announcement was made in May 2014 that Glencore will drop Xstrata and be simply known as Glencore.