The Vickery Extension Project seeks to expand the size of the already-approved Vickery Coal Project. The Project site is located approximately 25 kilometres north of Gunnedah in the Gunnedah Coal Field. The project encompasses the former Vickery Mine and the former Canyon mine, which closed in 2010.
Whitehaven Coal received approval from the NSW Government for the 4.5Mtpa Vickery open cut mine in September 2014. We are now seeking approval to increase production up to 10.0Mtpa. The increased production will help fund new infrastructure for the mine, including a new washery and rail line. A new rail line will see coal mined by Whitehaven transported via rail, reducing the amount of coal trucks on local roads initially, and potentially removing coal trucks from shared roads altogether in the future.
A new coal washery on site at Vickery will enable us to close and transfer the functions of the Gunnedah CHPP currently located at the northern end of town.
If approved, the Project is expected to create 500 jobs during the construction phase, and 450 jobs during operations. Consistent with all our operations, the majority of our operational workforce will be based in the local community. Vickery last operated as a functioning open cut mine in the late 1990s and the site has been partially rehabilitated.
