Stanmore defers underground development

Coal miner Stanmore Coal on Wednesday announced that it would defer the development of its Isaac Plains underground project, in Queensland.

The miner told shareholders that while a bankable feasibility study on the underground operation had confirmed a positive business case for a 1.2-million tonne a year operation, the quantum of product tonnes forecast from the underground operation, combined with the opencut sources exceeded the current coal handling and processing plant (CHPP) and contracted port capacity.