Australian coking coal producer QCoal will retain its Northern Hub and Byerwen coal complexes in Queensland after the November 28 closure of its Cook coal mine with a capacity of 1 million tons per year.
The closure of the QCoal coal mine in Cook will not affect the company's other operations, an Argus representative said on December 2.
The company can produce up to 10 million tons of solid coking coal per year at the Byerwen joint venture with Japanese manufacturer JFE Steel. The company also produces about 6 million tons of thermal and solid coking coal per year at its Northern Hub complex.
On November 28, QCoal shut down Cook Colliery's last production facility due to high production costs, market pressures and high royalty rates, the company said at the time. This will lead to the transfer of the underground mine to maintenance mode, the company added.
QCoal in September shut down the first production unit at the Cook coal mine for similar reasons.
The company is not the only coal producer in Queensland facing production problems. The Australian company BHP transferred its Saraji South mine to maintenance in November due to royalty rates and coal prices.
Other Queensland coal companies have also announced a capital strike, but are not publicly announcing it, Gordon Galt, director of investment firm Taurus Funds Management, told Argus.
Their expenses for commercial purchases, utility bills and government payments decreased by 5.3 billion Australian dollars (3.5 billion US dollars) between July 2024 and June 2025 fiscal year. Queensland's royalty revenues fell by AUD$5 billion over the same period due to low coal prices.
Producers are also seeking to sell or secure financing for about six mines due to price pressures, a market participant told Argus.
