“This is another major milestone for Dartbrook,” said Ayten Saridas, managing director and CEO, Australian Pacific Coal. “For the first time since the mine entered care and maintenance in 2006, Dartbrook is once again producing highquality coal. Commissioning is underway and the team on the ground is working hard to bring the mine safely into commercial production in the coming weeks.

“By producing coal to surface, we have demonstrated the exciting potential of the Dartbrook mine,” she continued. “To do so in such a short period is an extraordinary achievement. In just 18 months, we have simplified the joint venture, secured $60 million in restart capex, finalized land and water access agreements, dewatered and refurbished the Hunter Tunnel, sourced and commissioned mining equipment, and installed a brand-new 4-km conveyor system.”

Continuous miners have cut quantities of coal since taking the bulk sample for lab testing in mid-July 2024. Coal cut during this period has been stored in the underground storage bin in preparation for the completion and testing of the conveyor system. With the conveyor operational, the conveyor and mining systems will now enter a commissioning period before commercial production commences.

“There is still work to be done to achieve commercial production and we remain focused on our goal of making Dartbrook a world-class underground mine,” Saridas said. “We are close to finalizing Port and Rail agreements and a working capital facility; the results of the bulk sample testing for thermal quality and met coal potential are anticipated this quarter; and preparations for the CHPP refurbishment are well advanced.”

Initially, Dartbrook will only use the dry plant (stockpiling, crushing, train load-out facilities) and produce unwashed thermal coal for sale to domestic or export customers. Once refurbishment of the CHPP is completed in early CY2025, the wet plant will be fully operational allowing ROM coal to be washed and graded for export markets where Dartbrook anticipates selling high-quality NEWC thermal coal and potentially have the option to produce quantities of semi-soft or PCI coal, subject to testing results.