Vale to Close Australian Mine; 500 Miners Laid-Off
Mining company Vale confirmed on Friday the closure of its Integra coal mine complex in eastern Australia due to the economic conditions of the coal market. 500 miners are expected to be out of work as Vale will end output of the mine and place it under “care and maintenance” status.
The company, which lost $480 million on its coal business in 2013, has faced immense pressure from investors to cut costs and streamline business better. Vale Chief Executive Officer Murilo Ferreira had previously said he did not expect any mines would be closed.
The Integra complex, which includes the underground Glennies Creek and the Camberwell open cut mines, are operated by subsidiary Integra in NSW Hunter Valley.
The 500 lay-offs are reportedly the largest in history for the area and will have an enormous economic impact.
"We're talking all up about 500 jobs there, so that's going to have a massive impact on the Singleton and surrounding towns where most of those workers and their families live," Peter Jordan of the Construction Forestry Mining and energy Union told ABC.
Vale is taking drastic measures as coal prices have fallen by at least 30 percent in the past two years.
The Integra complex, which is located in New South Wales, produces about 4.5 million tons of coal per year from both its underground and open cut mine. The mine produces both metallurgical and thermal coal.
The coal sector in Australia has been hit hard as of late as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have also closed several coal mines recently, including BHP’s Norwich Park and Gregory operations in eastern Australia. In March, Glencore Xstrata closed its Ravensworth underground coal mine in Hunter Valley.
