BHP’s latest quarterly report reinforces the mining giant’s stance on Queensland’s coal royalty rates as it notes moves to place Saraji South into a period of care and maintenance from November 2025.
The company cited market conditions and the ‘unsustainable impact of the Queensland Government’s coal royalties on business returns’ for the move.
BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) announced last month that it was axing about 750 roles across Queensland and planned to mothball Saraji South.
Production increased 8 per cent across BMA operations in the Bowen Basin last quarter to 9.7Mt, according to the latest update.
This was due to higher underground production rates at Broadmeadow and increased prime stripping, which offset the impact of planned higher strip ratios at BMA’s open-cut operations.
The average realised price for steelmaking coal from BMA was down 16 per cent to $US180.67/tonne.
Production guidance for FY26 remains unchanged at between 36 and 40Mt.
‘Volumes will be weighted to H2 FY26, with continued safe management of geotechnical characteristics in the current longwall panel and a longwall move at Broadmeadow scheduled in Q2 FY26,’ the report stated.
‘We expect to continue building raw coal inventory into CY27, to further improve operating stability.’