Tahmoor Colliery
{{Short description|Mine in New South Wales}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox mine
| name = Tahmoor Colliery
| image = Tahmoor Colliery Entrance.jpg
| width =
| caption = Tahmoor Colliery entrance in April 2010
| pushpin_map = Australia New South Wales
| pushpin_mapsize =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption=
| pushpin_image =
| pushpin_label =
| pushpin_label_position =
| coordinates = {{Coord|-34.250|150.578|display=inline,title|region:AU-NSW}}
| place = Tahmoor
| subdivision_type = state
| state/province = New South Wales
| country = Australia
| products = Coking coal
| amount = 2 000 000 tonnes
| financial year = 2017
| type = Underground
| greatest depth =
| discovery year =
| opening year = 1980
| active years =
| closing year =
| owner = SIMEC Group
| official website = {{url|https://www.tahmoorcolliery.com.au/}}
}}
Tahmoor Colliery is an underground coal mine at Tahmoor in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Australia. Owned by the SIMEC Group, a GFG Alliance company, the colliery has been shut down since February 2025 owing to financial troubles.
History
Construction of the mine was commenced by Clutha Development in 1975, and opened in 1980 by BP Coal, which by then had had purchased Clutha. It was sold to Conzinc Riotinto Australia in 1989, Austal Coal in 1997, Centennial Coal in 2005, and Xstrata in 2007. In 2013, Xstrata merged with Glencore, and Tahmoor Colliery became known as Glencore's Tahmoor Underground. Tahmoor Coal Pty Ltd was acquired on 20 April 2018 by the SIMEC mining division of the GFG Alliance started trading as Tahmoor Coking Coal Operations (TCCO).{{cite web| url=http://www.simec.com/media/6877/4761_tahmoor.pdf |title= Tahmoor Coal Pty Ltd: MINE OPERATIONS PLAN: Tahmoor Coking Coal Operations – SIMEC Mining, 2019-2020|date=25 Oct 2019| first=Fiona |last= Robinson|publisher= SIMEC Group|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126185227/http://www.simec.com/media/6877/4761_tahmoor.pdf| archive-date= 26 Jan 2022}}{{cite news |url=https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/glencore-offloads-tahmoor-coal-mine-gfg-alliance/ |title=Glencore offloads Tahmoor coal mine to GFG Alliance |date=3 January 2018 |first=Ben |last=Creagh |newspaper=Australian Mining |accessdate=11 December 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103142942/https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/glencore-offloads-tahmoor-coal-mine-gfg-alliance/| archive-date = 3 Jan 2018}}{{cite web | title=Our history – Tahmoor Colliery | website=Tahmoor Colliery – Tahmoor Coking (metallurgical) Mine | date=18 October 2022 | url=https://www.tahmoorcolliery.com.au/who-we-are/our-history/ | access-date=11 June 2025}}
In May 2025, the New South Wales Government gave approval to the mine to continue operating for at least another eight years.
In February 2025, around 450 employees were stood down, initially on paid leave for four weeks, after being told that the shutdown was due to unpaid bills which had caused deliveries from key suppliers to be paused.{{cite web | last=Laul | first=Brian | title=Tahmoor mine crisis: hundreds stood down over unpaid debts | website=Good Morning Macarthur | date=9 February 2025 | url=https://www.goodmorningmacarthur.com/tahmoor-mine-crisis-hundreds-stood-down-over-unpaid-debts/ | access-date=11 June 2025}} {{as of|June 2025}}, the colliery was still not operational, with 560 workers workers having been stood down indefinitely, owing to the ongoing financial problems of parent company GFG Alliance.{{cite web | last=Donnellan | first=Angelique | last2=Coulter | first2=Ellen | title=GFG Alliance workers across Australia face an uncertain future as Sanjeev Gupta's financial woes worsen | website=ABC News | date=10 June 2025 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-10/gfg-alliance-sanjeev-gupta-tasmanian-smelter-closes/105373166 | access-date=11 June 2025}}
=Incidents=
Tahmoor Colliery has a history of outbursts, in which gas trapped in the coal violently escapes during mining, throwing hundreds of tonnes of coal and rock, and large amounts of suffocating gas. One miner was killed as a consequence of one of these outbursts in 1985. In 1994, it was reported that Tahmoor had recorded 89 outbursts up to April 1992. In response to that fatality, practices and equipment were upgraded, initially to provide a separately-ventilated and armoured operator cabin, and later to provide remote control.{{cite web |url=https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Hansard/Pages/HansardResult.aspx#/docid/HANSARD-1323879322-94863 |title=Legislative Assembly Hansard – 12 April 1994 |publisher=Parliament of New South Wales |work=Hansard & House Papers |date=12 April 1994 |accessdate=11 December 2018}}
In September 2018, two men were trapped {{convert|160|m}} underground when the lift cage jammed in the mine shaft. They were uninjured, and rescued late in the evening by Fire & Rescue New South Wales.{{cite news |url=https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/two-men-trapped-160m-down-nsw-coal-mine-shaft/news-story/eba05cf78a2de04da3a7d67b9d208e03 |title=Two men trapped 160m down NSW coal mine shaft |date=6 September 2018|publisher=News.com.au |accessdate=11 December 2018}}
Description
{{as of|June 2025}} the colliery is operated by SIMEC, part of the GFG Alliance owned by British businessman Sanjeev Gupta.{{cite web | title=Tahmoor Colliery – Tahmoor Coking (metallurgical) Mine | website=Tahmoor Colliery – Tahmoor Coking (metallurgical) Mine | date=20 February 2025 | url=https://www.tahmoorcolliery.com.au/ | access-date=11 June 2025}} {{as of|May 2025}} the mine was up for sale, with a price of A$800 million.
The mine operates in the Bulli coal seam. Most of the mine product is hard coking coal used for steel making. A small quantity of steaming blend coal used for power generation is also produced. Both products are exported to Europe and Asia,{{cite web |url=http://www.simec.com/mining/tahmoor-coking-coal-operations/ |title=Tahmoor Coking Coal Operations |publisher=SIMEC Group |accessdate=11 December 2018}}{{cite web | title=Tahmoor Colliery | website=Wollondilly Shire Council | url=https://www.wollondilly.nsw.gov.au/home/latest-news/joint-media-statement | access-date=11 June 2025}} a total of 75% of its production.{{cite web | last=Wright | first=Christopher | title=NSW approves extension of its second most polluting coal mine, to the benefit of no-one but its owner | website=RenewEconomy | date=28 May 2025 | url=https://reneweconomy.com.au/nsw-approves-extension-of-its-second-most-polluting-coal-mine-to-the-benefit-of-no-one-but-its-owner/ | access-date=11 June 2025}}
The mine was reported in 2017 as having {{convert|57|Mt|abbr=on}} of reserves and {{convert|650|Mt|abbr=on}} total resource.
The mine produces a high level of carbon emissions, second highest of all coal mines in NSW, releasing over a million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2024 just from its operations.
=Railway connection=
The colliery is connected to the Main Southern railway line via a balloon loop that opened in May 1981.Signalling & Safeworkng Railway Digest September 1981 page 277 In 2013, extension of the mine was anticipated to take it below a railway tunnel on the Main Southern railway line. To avoid the risk of subsidence within the tunnel, Xstrata funded the construction of a diversion around Redbank Hill to remove trains from the tunnel, which was filled with rock and sealed.[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-05/xtrata-coal/4409402 Southern Highlands coal miner moves rail line] ABC News 5 December 2012{{cite news |url=https://www.wollondillyadvertiser.com.au/story/1236552/rail-tunnel-will-soon-be-history/ |newspaper=Wollondilly Advertiser |date=15 January 2013 |title=Rail tunnel will soon be history |first=Michael |last=Cox |accessdate=11 December 2018}}
References
{{reflist}}