QLD Mining and Energy Bulletin
Issue link: http://ebook.aprs.com.au/i/50246
Kristen Scott explains exactly why Blackwater has earned its title of being Queensland's coal capital. A t first glance, Blackwater appears to be little more than a smouldering ghost town with a few petrol stations and motels – but dig a little deeper, and the visitor soon discovers that it is a town rich in history, coal deposits, and native wildlife. Adding to its ghostly charm, it is said that the waters of Blackwater Creek once ran black: an eerie, but natural occurrence, caused by a combination of dark sands and decaying tree branches lining the banks. With a smaller population than was originally conceived for the area, Blackwater is a close-knit community of around 5,000 people. But despite its humble population number, Blackwater remains a major town of a significant coal mining area. Located on the Capricorn Highway in Queensland's Central Highlands, Blackwater is approximately 836 kilometres from Brisbane and 74 kilometres east of Emerald. The Prussian naturalist and explorer, Ludwig Leichhardt, discovered significant "beds of coal" in the region in 1845, en route to Port Essington in the Northern Territory. According to Leichhardt, these coal deposits were "indistinguishable from those on the Hunter at Newcastle". Although these observations were well documented, it was some 32 years later that Europeans established a settlement there. This was largely due to the 1877 extension of the Great Western railway line from Rockhampton. The town was gazetted in 1886, and by the swinging 1920s, the town's population had reached 80 people – many of whom worked at the Mount Morgan Mines. The sweltering heat and work conditions during this period certainly impelled a lot of sweaty men, with scratchy beards, to demand the construction of a swimming pool for workers. But the men would have to wait until Utah Mining financed a pool development in the 1970s – just a little too late for the men of the 1920s. Whilst the 1920s and 1930s saw numerous industrial progressions for the town of Blackwater, it 52 QLD Mining and Energy Bulletin Summer 2011/12 really was not until the 1960s that the town started to develop. The first open-cut mine began operation in 1967, which sparked the expansion of Blackwater's mining industry. The Cook Colliery mine opened in 1970, followed by the Gregory and Oakey mines in 1979. Ironically, there were only 25 people living in Blackwater in 1962 when coking coal was first discovered. But by the mid-1980s, around 8,000 people had moved to Blackwater. These days, there are six major open-cut coal mines that surround Blackwater – the largest being Blackwater Coal Mine. This mine is also one of the largest in Australia and is owned by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA). Annually, it produces around 14 million tonnes of coking and thermal coal for foreign markets, exporting product to Japan, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Fourteen kilometres north-west of Blackwater, the Curragh Mine covers a whopping 12,600 hectares of the Bowen Basin. It was opened in 1983, and is operated by independent coal producers, Wesfarmers Curragh Pty Ltd. It exports about 6.5 million tonnes of coal annually to Asia, Europe and South America. The mine was threatened by the 2011 Queensland floods, but survived largely undamaged. Its production levels will enable it to supply coal until 2025. Other mining companies in the area include Cook Resources Mining Pty Ltd, Jellinbah Mining Pty Ltd, Kenmare and Yarrabee Coal Company Ltd. The coal is exported to Europe, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Chile, whilst steaming coal is used to generate power within Queensland. Together, these mines produce more tonnes of coal than anywhere else in Queensland, which is why it is endearingly referred to as the Coal Capital. Luckily for the townsfolk of Blackwater, coal is transported to Gladstone via train, on a line that was electrified in 1988. There are no trucks clogging the roads and expelling coal dust into the air, which considerably shields residents from the grime of coalmining. [Your Mining Town] Blackwater THE COAL CAPITAL OF QUEENSLAND