Duralie Mine

Duralie Mine one of Leighton Contractor’s most unique and challenging sites. It is a modest sized open-cut operation which is run in tandem with Gloucester Coal’s smaller Startford operations- Bowens Road North and Roseville.

At Duralie Mine, Leighton Contractors is responsible for all of the mine planning, surface mining operations and site rehabilitation. We were also responsible for the mine planning and operations at Gloucester Coal’s Bowens Road North Mine until late 2006, when the operations there become smaller and more selective.

We continue to be responsible for statutory mine management and to provide drill and blast services there.

Unique challenges

Duralie has several challenges that make it unique. The coal seams dip steeply and have hard instructions which require a great deal of expertise in the planning and scheduling of the pit.

Added to these operational difficulties are the frequent periods of heavy rain that sweep the area and the high voltage transmission power lines that provide electricity to the surrounding area and which traverse the pit.

Once mined, coal is dumped into the train loader hopper and railed to Stratford for processing. Equipment is operated and maintained (on site) by teams of trained and skilled people.

Around 70 people work at Duralie, with most employees living locally and are long-term employees.