Meandu Mine
MEANDU MINE
Annual capacity 7.6 Million tonnes
Supply expectancy 2037
Commissioned 1983
Overview
Meandu Mine is located 25km south-east of Kingaroy in the South Burnett region of southern Queensland. It provides coal to the Tarong power stations as its sole customer.
Work first began on Meandu Mine in the South Burnett in 1978 after the Queensland Government made the decision to go ahead with the construction of the adjacent Tarong Power Station. In 1984, the mine began regular deliveries to the power station and ownership of Meandu Mine was transferred to Stanwell from Tarong Energy in July 2011.
Download the latest Meandu Mine fact sheet here
Technical details
Meandu Mine currently has four working pits and is operated by contract miner BUMA s under stringent safety and environmental conditions. Coal is mined from three gently dipping seams varying in thickness from 2 to 20 metres. The two principal seams are at 30m and 60m depth. The mine delivers continual coal supply to the Tarong power station using a 1.5 kilometre conveyor which results in much improved efficiencies. When the mine was first established it was estimated that there was enough coal to supply the Tarong Power stations for up to 25 years. However, more economic coal has been discovered in recent years, providing a secure fuel source for electricity generation at the Tarong power stations until 2035.
Progressive rehabilitation
Meandu Mine has implemented progressive rehabilitation of land since the start of operations. This practice has enabled the active area of mining to be minimised and at any point in time, the mine can be effectively returned to post mining use. The rehabilitation work at Meandu is highly regarded across the private, public, and academic sectors.
Stanwell’s Meandu Progressive Rehabilitation and Closure Plan was approved by Queensland Department of Environment and Science in January 2024. Following extensive community consultation, the post-mining land uses for Meandu Mine have been expanded to include substantial areas for both cattle grazing and water storage.
In 2008, Tarong was granted approval to deposit waste ash from the power stations into a void in the Meandu Mine via an overland pipeline negating the need to source other fill for the land rehabilitation.
Mine extension plans
Meandu Mine’s ‘King 2 East’ (K2E) Project will provide a secure, economic supply of coal for the life of Tarong power stations, ensuring Stanwell is able to continue producing reliable energy for Queenslanders.
The K2E Project will increase the current Meandu Mine surface rights area by approximately 187 hectares - that’s a seven percent increase in the total operational land area of Meandu Mine. The project area is within the current operational mining lease.
Stanwell is progressing the relevant regulatory approvals in preparation for mining in the K2E Project area in 2026.
There will be upcoming public notifications for the Federal Government environmental approval processes, and for an application to close a portion of Ridge Road that is within the K2E Project area.
OPERATIONS PARTNER
BUMA Australia operates the Meandu Mine on behalf of Stanwell. Read more about their commitments and approach to business.
BUMA AustraliaMeet Andrew Toms
GENERAL MANAGER MINING
Andrew joined Stanwell in 2022 as General Manager Mining. Andrew has extensive leadership experience, having previously worked in open cut coal mines in both operational and technical roles. Andrew joined us from Coronado’s Curragh Mine, where he was formerly the Mining Manager, and before that with Glendora and Anglo American mining operations.
Meet John Carey
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT MANAGER: SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND
John Carey has been with Stanwell since 2008, and is the manager of Stakeholder Engagement for Southern Queensland with a team of dedicated individuals working alongside neighbouring communities and local stakeholders across our southern Queensland sites.
Contact John and the team via email:
Contact Stakeholder Engagement for Southern Queensland
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