XSTRATA Coal's has announced that mining will cease at its United Collieries mine in New South Wales in March 2010 when the site will be placed on care and maintenance.
At that time the mine’s economically recoverable underground reserves will have been exhausted.
The closure could potentially result in the loss of 174 full time jobs.
Xstrata Coal says that the first round of redundancies would start in September, affecting about 40 mine employees, eight managerial and administrative staff and 20 contractors. However, the company says it hopes to redeploy staff to its 14 or so other coal mines in the Hunter Valley.
United Collieries currently produces semi-soft coking coal and low ash thermal coal at a rate of three million tonnes per annum.
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