Surat Basin miner cuts 600 jobs
A COMPANY planning one of the world's largest open cut coal mines at Wandoan has cut 600 workers from its Australian workforce.
Xstrata Coal blamed the restructure and associated job cuts on industry-wide pressures including low coal prices, high input costs and a strong Australian dollar.
The company has federal and some state approvals to develop a coal mine at Wandoan, north-west of Toowoomba, which would produce 30 million tonnes of coal a year over 30 years.
The Wandoan project is expected to be the catalyst for the billion-dollar Missing Link, a proposed rail line that would allow coal to be transported from the Surat Basin to the Port of Gladstone.
"Feasibility studies into our Wandoan Project continue, to enable an investment decision once relevant approvals have been completed and market conditions permit," a company statement read today.
