Rix's Creek North Continuation Project
Bloomfield Collieries Pty Limited (The Bloomfield Group) owns and operates Rix’s Creek Mine (RCM) located in the Hunter Valley of NSW.
RCM was established in 1990 and is a coal mining operation located approximately 5 km north of Singleton at its closest point. RCM's mining operations occur on either side of the New England Highway. RCM is made up of Rix’s Creek North (RCN) (formerly Integra Open Cut) and Rix’s Creek South (RCS) (the original Rix’s Creek Mine).
Bloomfield is seeking to extend the mine life of RCN. This is being referred to as the Rix’s Creek North Continuation Project (the Project).
The Rix's Creek North Continuation Project
About the Project:
The Project is seeking to recover additional coal resources that exist within the miningauthorisations held by Bloomfield.
The Project will provide certainty for local jobs and significant economic benefit to Singleton as well as for both NSW and Australia.
The Project involves the continuation of operations to the west, which will require relocating and upgrading approximately four kilometres of the New England Highway to the north of Singleton.
The highway realignment would commence south of the intersection of McInerney Road at Camberwell and extend south towards Rixs Creek. If approved, Bloomfield will construct the new section of road in close consultation with Transport for NSW.
The existing highway will remain open while we build the new road alignment in order to minimise disruption to day to day traffic. We estimate this part of the Project would generate 60 jobs during construction.
The Project also includes:
- Continuation of mining operations to the north and west of the existing Falbrook Mining Area out to Middle Falbrook and Stony Creek Roads
- Maintaining the currently approved combined RCN peak raw coal extraction rate of six million tonnes per annum (i.e. the amount of resource extracted per annum will remain the same as currently approved)
- Revisions to the final landform, including changes to the number, location and volumes of the final voids allowing for enhanced future land use (predominantly for cattle grazing)
- Proposed mining operations within the Falbrook Pit (previously known as the North Open Cut) to be conducted 24 hours per day, 7 days per week
- Seeking approval to take overburden from RCN to RCS to improve rehabilitation outcomes
- Extending the life of mining operations at RCN from 2035 (current approval) until the end of 2049.
Project Benefits:
The Hunter is the leading regional economy in Australia (NSW Government 2022), to which RCN is an important contributor. The existing social and economic benefits of the RCM would continue as a result of the extended mine life proposed by the Project. The Project would enable thecontinued annual expenditure of approximately $170M in goods and services and the continued employment of approximately 250 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees, while supporting
approximately 520 individual suppliers.
The Project is expected to generate:
- Additional taxation payable to both State (Payroll tax) and Commonwealth (Group tax) from the additional years of mining;
- Approximately 60 direct jobs during the construction of the New England Highway realignment;
- Royalties from the additional 63.5 Mt of ROM coal being mined;
- Corporate income tax payments from the additional years of mining;
- A final landform which will contain no high walls; and
- An upgraded, improved and more efficient alignment of the New England Highway.
Community Consultation
Community engagement is taking several forms and is ongoing as part of the Project’s planning and assessment process.
Regular Updates
If you would like to be kept up to date on progress of the Project during the assessment phase please contact The Bloomfield Group on :
- Phone: 02 4930 2600
- Email: RCNcontinuation@bloomcoll.com.au
- Or click on the link below to fill out your details in the form