MAILBOX

July 2015 Newsletter

MANDALONG

MANDALONG SOUTH SURFACE SITE A geotechnical assessment of the access road and the Mandalong South Surface Site, the infrastructure needed to ventilate the Southern Extension Project, was carried out in February this year. Samples from test pits and shallow boreholes are being used to assist the project team to design the access road, bridge over Morans Creek and the intersection on to Mandalong Road. Preliminary designs have been completed and detailed design work will continue for the remainder of 2015.

Construction of the access road is anticipated to commence in July 2016.

MANDALONG MINING UPDATEMandalong Mine (Mandalong) is currently mining Longwall 18 and this will continue until the end of 2015. Longwall equipment will then be transferred to Longwall 19. Longwall mining is now located to the south-east of Browns Rd, within the Olney State Forest and progressing towards the intersection of Tobins Road and Mandalong Rd, while the Main Headings have developed just south of Chapmans Rd.

SUBSIDENCE MANAGEMENT UPDATEMandalong has recently commenced the preparation of an Extraction Plan application for Longwalls 22 to 24A. The Extraction Plan has replaced the Subsidence Management Plan (SMP) process that has been in place for the past ten years. There will be little change for landowners, with subsidence impacts still managed by the development of individual Property Subsidence Management Plans. Notifications to landowners within the Longwall 22 to 24A Extraction Plan application area will be completed in the coming months. If you have any questions regarding the Extraction Plan, SMP or mining process please contact the Mining Approvals Coordinator, Phil Enright on 4973 0948 or free call 1800 730 919.

Mandalong Southern Extension ProjectApproval Timeline

MANDALONG SOUTHERN EXTENSION PROJECT Approval Process In December 2014, the Department of Planning & Environment (DP&E) provided a report on the Project recommending approval along with draft set of conditions of consent. These documents were referred to the Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) for a merit review. A public hearing was conducted by the PAC on 12 February 2015.

The PAC completed its merit review on the Project in April 2015 and has also recommended approval subject to conditions. Centennial has been liaising with the Office of Environment and Heritage and the DP&E to finalise the biodiversity land management strategy. The DP&E has commenced its addendum to its report of December 2014. Once complete it will be forwarded to the PAC for final determination.

All documents relating to the approval process can be found on the major projects section of the DP&E’s website.

MANDALONG EXPLORATION UPDATEA proposed surface exploration drilling programme is scheduled to start in late 2015 to early 2016. The intention of the programme is to drill up to six surface to seam exploration boreholes to further define the geology, coal quality and seam thickness for the planned Longwalls 22 to 24A.

A Review of Environmental Factors will be conducted to determine suitable exploration sites that will provide minimal environmental impacts while providing the best geological information for mine planning. Centennial is currently negotiating access agreements with private property owners at potential drilling sites.

The previous exploration programme consisting of three boreholes was successful in defining the extent of a geological feature called an igneous sill, located near Longwalls 19 to 21. In this location the igneous sill has intruded the coal seam and can limit the extent of mining where the coal seam has been significantly affected by the sill material. The surface boreholes provide the most reliable information for mine planning and subsequently the most timely and reliable information for landowners located within the proposed mining area.

The photograph shows a truck mounted drill rig used for surface exploration. A pad, typically 25m x 25m is needed, with access to the site normally along existing

Exploration drill rig set-up at a recent drill site in the Mandalong Valley

tracks or roads. An above ground container shown in the left of the photograph is used to contain and recycle all the drilling material and water used in the drilling process. At the completion of drilling the waste material and water is removed from the site by a licenced recycling contractor. At the completion of drilling, the 100mm diameter borehole is sealed with a cement mixture for its entire length. The drill pad site and any access tracks are then rehabilited to the landowner’s satisfaction. An inspection of the site is conductred by the Environmental Coordinator approximately one year after drilling to ensure the rehabilitation work has been successful.

VENTILATION AIR METHANE REGENERATIVE AFTER BURNER What is VAM?

Methane is naturally contained within coal. As methane is explosive under certain circumstances the removal of methane from a mine is a key safety matter. Fresh air is drawn through the mine and expelled to the atmosphere by a fan. This air contains methane in low concentrations. This low concentration/dilute methane is known as Ventilation Air Methane (VAM).

VAM RAB® Technology

VAM RAB® (Ventilation Air Methane Regenerative After Burner) is a carbon reduction technology, designed and engineered by Corky’s. It progressively oxidises VAM to create carbon dioxide and water. A VAM RAB® unit treats VAM by a process of oxidation using regenerative thermal oxidiser (RTO) technology. Corky’s has refined the RTO technology to create the Regenerative After Burner (RAB) which can be coupled to the mine ventilation system via a safe connection duct. The VAM RAB® directs the underground operations ventilated air through an oven-like system which heats the air up to 1,000°C. Once the ventilated air is heated it safely converts the methane component into less potent carbon dioxide (and water). This conversion changes the Global Warming Potential from 21 times for methane to one for carbon dioxide.

Safety Duct and VAM RAB® Scale-up Project and VAM RAB® Demonstration Plant update

VAM simulation trial at low levels of VAM (0.3%) were conducted in April 2015, with the VAM-RAB® demonstration plant undergoing changes at present to improve the efficiency and is planned to recommence VAM simulation by end of July 2015.The research and development will continue on the VAM-RAB® scale-up project with the concept design completed in June 2015. The final design for the VAM RAB® scale-up project is scheduled to be completed in August 2016 and the fabrication of equipment to be completed in August 2017. Once the Environmental Assessment is completed and pending approval from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, the construction works at Mandalong are scheduled to start in August 2017 with VAM-RAB® plant to be tested and fully operational in December 2018. The overall outcome of this project is a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the Mandalong Mine.

Safety Duct and VAM RAB® scale-up Concept Design as of June 2015

Mandalong continues to actively engage with and invest in the Community in which it operates. The mine has supported numerous community organisations and events.

LOCAL COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Cooranbong Public School Trivia Night

St John Vianney Primary School Bridge Opening

NAIDOC Day Celebration at Blacksmiths July 2015

Location of Mandalong Wetland above Longwall 16-18 and Monitoring Lines

MANDALONG WETLAND UPDATEThe large wetland located south of the Mandalong Rd and Tobins Rd intersection will be mined beneath by three longwall panels. The impact of subsidence from mining beneath the wetland has been studied during the development of two Subsidence Management Plan (SMP) applications. Several assessments, including flora and fauna, groundwater, flooding and remnant ponding were undertaken to ensure the appropriate management plans were in place and there would be no long-term impact to the wetland.

To monitor and track the impact of subsidence on the wetland, a subsidence and environmental monitoring programme has been established for the wetland. Hunter Eco’s environmental biologist Dr Colin Driscoll has been monitoring the wetland since 2009 and will continue to monitor the wetland throughout and after the mining process is completed. The wetland is also included in the Mandalong Mine Wetland Monitoring and Management Plan, which includes several wetlands within the Mandalong Valley.

The wetland will see some temporary changes to its water level during the mining process due to subsidence from mining each longwall panel. The first change to the wetland occurred from mining Longwall 16 in late 2014 when lowering the overflow channel caused a reduction in the wetlands water level. This also corresponded to a period of below average rainfall in the preceding and following months.

The second phase occurred in April 2015 from mining in Longwall 17 which is located beneath the major body of the wetland. Subsidence from Longwall 17 resulted in the grade of the overflow channel to be restored, similar to pre-mining grades. As a result of the recent subsidence and rainfall the water level over the majority of the wetland has returned close to normal

levels.

The third phase will occur when mining in Longwall 18 is completed in late 2015 and when the entire wetland landform has returned to a more uniform level and normal water levels re-established. Some additional settlement will follow when Longwall 19 is completed later in 2016. The final outcome is expected to result in a marginal increase in the depth and extent of the wetland.

An update on the wetland will be provided in the next newsletter later in the year.

www.centennialcoal.com.au

1800 730 919

MANDALONG

COMMUNITY INFORMATION LINE

TRANSMISSION LINE TL24 RELOCATION

Subject to approval of the Mandalong Southern Extension Project, Mandalong is seeking to modify this pending development consent for the Mandalong Transmission line TL24 Relocation Project (the TL24 Project). TransGrid completed a Network Modification Scoping Study earlier this year which determined the proposed route for the relocation and location of new towers. The Project will involve relocating a 2.4 kilometre section of TL24 in addition to removing 12 existing steel lattice towers and establishing eight new tension and suspension steel lattice towers. The accompanying figure provides an illustration of these proposed works.

The key stages of the Project will include:• Completion of the Environmental Assessment

and technical specialist reports.• Submission of the Environmental Assessment to

DP&E.• Establishment of access tracks and clearing of

required 60 metre wide easement.• Construction of proposed tower foundations

and establishment of towers for the new section of TL24.

• Stringing and cutting in of lines on new section of TL24.

• Removal and remediation of redundant TL24 structures.

• Rehabilitation on completion of construction works.

Plan TL24

Approximately 14 hectares of clearing is required for the new section of TL24, which is entirely on freehold land owned by Centennial. Following the establishment of the eight new towers and relocation of the line the redundant 12 towers will be decommissioned, dismantled and removed in consultation with affected landowners. Environmental fieldwork has commenced and it is anticipated that the Environmental Assessment and technical specialist reports will be completed by September 2015. Construction and decommissioning are dependent on the DP&E approval process in addition to TransGrid’s schedule and Mandalong Mine’s extraction schedule. At this early stage of the Project land preparation activities are scheduled to commence in 2017 once the access road off Mandalong Road for the Mandalong South Surface Site has been completed.

If anyone wishes to learn more about the Mandalong Southern Extension Project or Transmission Line TL24 Project they can contact the Project team on 1800 731 966.