In September 2006, Eastern Corporation of Australia acquired Takitimu Coal Mine, located at Nightcaps, 70 km NNE of Invercargill, where open cut and underground coal mining has been conducted for more than 50 years. The area has been identified as containing one of only two large known deposits of sub-bituminous coal in the Southland district.
Coal extracted from Takitimu is used predominantly as thermal coal for domestic and industrial purposes throughout the South Island . Takitimu supplies approximately 130,000tpa to Fonterra's Clandeboye dairy facility near Timaru.
A large industrial market exists for this product and recent trails with potential customers have demonstrated its value as an energy source. An initial Measured Coal Resource of 2.85 million tonnes has been defined, and it is planned to expand production to meet the increasing market demand.
In November 2006 STRACON was awarded a contract to provide mining services for Stage 1 of the project's development. A further contract was awarded to STRACON in August 2007 to operate the mine. STRACON is responsible for the removal of waste and mining and delivery of coal to the ROM pad.
