Cyclone Debbie Sweeps
through Queensland
Cyclone Debbie struck Queensland at
the end of March and rail provider Aurizon
confirmed none of the four railways
serving regional coal mines were in full
operation while two of them were entirely
out of action. The disruption will likely
spark a short-term rally in coking coal
prices given that Queensland produces
more than half of the world’s seaborne
coking coal.
The worst affected railway is the Goonyella
railway system, which is also the
most extensive rail network serving the
world’s top coking coal district in the
Bowen Basin. It connects Bowen Basin
mines to the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal
and Hay Point Coal Terminal. While access
to inspect the Goonyella line remains
“severely limited,” Aurizon said the rail
corridor had suffered “significant landslips”
which could take five weeks to fix.
As featured in Womp 2017 Vol 04 - www.womp-int.com