Ruqayyah Snyder
Brown coal, also known as lignite, is found in several states across Australia. While it is present in all states, it is most abundant in the Gippsland Basin in Victoria. Smaller amounts of brown coal can also be found in the Otway, Murray, and Eucla basins, which span Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia. Victoria's Loy Yang open-cut mine in the Latrobe Valley provides fuel for about 50% of the state's electricity needs. In 2019, Australia's total recoverable identified resources of brown coal were estimated at 433,360 million tonnes, making it the second-largest source of economic demonstrated brown coal in the world, after Russia.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| States where brown coal is found | Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales |
| Basins where brown coal is found | Gippsland Basin, Murray Basin, Otway Basin, Eucla Basin, Collie Basin, Canning Basin, Perth Basin, Arckaringa Basin |
| Mines where brown coal is found | Loy Yang open-cut mine, Yallourn North open-cut mine |
| Power stations using brown coal | Loy Yang Complex, Yallourn W power station |
| Coalfields | Latrobe Valley, Bowen Basin, Illawarra region, Bowen Basin Coalfields |
| Country that imports the largest share of Australia's coal exports | Japan |
| Year when brown coal was first discovered in Victoria | 1857 |
| Year when brown coal production in Australia decreased by nearly 3% | 2016 |
| Australia's rank in global production of brown coal | Fourth-highest producer |
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What You'll Learn
Brown coal deposits in Victoria
Brown coal, also known as lignite, is the lowest rank of coal and is present in all Australian states. However, it is most abundant in the Gippsland Basin in Victoria, with smaller amounts also found in the Otway Basin, Murray Basin, and Eucla Basin.
The Gippsland Basin in Victoria contains a substantial world-class deposit of brown coal, where seams can be up to 330 metres thick. The Latrobe Valley, within the Gippsland Region of Victoria, is home to the Loy Yang Complex and Yallourn W power stations, which utilise brown coal from nearby deposits in the Yallourn-Morwell and Loy Yang coalfields. During the 2015-2016 financial year, brown coal generated 19% of Australia's electricity, down from 20.2% in the previous year.
The discovery of brown coal in Victoria dates back to the 1860s, and it has been mined near Morwell since 1887. In 1892, the Great Morwell Coal Mining Company produced the first Victorian briquettes using a process that dried and compressed raw brown coal. However, the mine closed in 1899 due to technical difficulties, competition, and a bushfire. In 1917, the mine was reopened to provide emergency fuel during an NSW coal miners' strike, leading to the formation of the State Electricity Commission (SEC). The SEC opened up major brown coal mines in the La Trobe Valley during the 1920s to meet the increasing demand for electricity.
Today, Victoria's Loy Yang open-cut mine covers about 6000 hectares in the Latrobe Valley and provides fuel for about 50% of the state's electricity needs. Brown coal is also mined at Maddingley in Victoria to produce soil conditioners and fertilisers. Other products derived from Victorian brown coal include briquettes for industrial and domestic use and low-ash and low-sulphide char products.
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Gippsland Basin, Victoria
Gippsland Basin, located in Victoria, is one of the world's major coal- and petroleum-bearing basins, containing the largest brown coal resources in Australia. Covering an area of around 46,000 square kilometres, 70% of the Gippsland Basin lies offshore beneath the Bass Strait. The Gippsland Basin has a long history of exploration and mining of both black and brown coal.
Brown coal mining in the Gippsland Basin began in 1924 when the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV) took over operations of the Old Brown Coal Mine to supply coal to the Yallourn Power Station. Brown coal mine development has continued since and now focuses on three existing coal mines: Yallourn, Hazelwood, and Loy Yang. The Loy Yang open-cut mine provides fuel for about 50% of Victoria's electricity needs.
The brown coal within the Gippsland Basin lies within three structural depressions: the Latrobe Valley, Seaspray, and Gelliondale-Alberton depressions. There are 28 defined coalfields within the Gippsland Basin bioregion, with the active Yallourn and Hazelwood open-cut mines lying within the Yallourn-Morwell coalfield. The Loy Yang Mine is within the Loy Yang-Flynn coalfield.
In addition to the Gippsland Basin, smaller amounts of brown coal are also located in the Otway, Murray, and Eucla basins in Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia.
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Latrobe Valley, Victoria
The brown coal deposits in the Latrobe Valley are considered world-class due to their thickness and continuity. The coal seams in this region are some of the thickest in the world, with the Yallourn seam reaching up to 100 meters in thickness. The Latrobe Valley Group consists of three stratigraphic units: the Traralgon, Morwell, and Yallourn Formations, which contain the three main coal seam groups. The coal in this region has a high moisture content, ranging from 48% to 70%, resulting in a low specific energy output.
The Loy Yang Complex and Yallourn W power stations are located within the Latrobe Valley and utilise the nearby brown coal deposits for energy production. The Loy Yang open-cut mine, owned by AGL, covers approximately 6000 hectares and provides fuel for about 50% of Victoria's electricity needs. The Hazelwood, Yallourn, and Loy Yang mines have produced substantial amounts of brown coal, with the Hazelwood and Yallourn mines producing 770 million and 1,100 million tonnes of brown coal, respectively.
The Latrobe Valley has been crucial in providing the raw material for power stations to generate electricity for the state of Victoria. However, there is now a transition towards renewable energy sources, with the Hazelwood Brown Coal Mine closing in 2017 and plans to cease electricity production at Yallourn in 2028. Despite the move away from coal, the Loy Yang mine has a licence to continue production until 2048, highlighting the continued relevance of the Latrobe Valley's brown coal deposits.
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Brown coal in South Australia
Brown coal, or lignite, is the lowest rank of coal and is present in all Australian states. However, it is most abundant in the Gippsland Basin in Victoria, with smaller amounts also located in the Otway, Murray (shared with South Australia), and Eucla (shared with Western Australia) basins.
In South Australia, brown coal was previously mined at Leigh Creek in the Arckaringa Basin, but the mine closed in 2015. This mine produced approximately 2.7 Mt of low-grade sub-bituminous black coal for power generation. The first discovery of coal in South Australia was a small occurrence of lignite near Pidinga in 1885. South Australia also has large resources of low-rank brown coal of Middle to Late Eocene age, distributed widely in Tertiary sedimentary basins in the southern part of the state.
In 1997, Australia was the sixth-largest producer of black coal, contributing 220 Mt (6%) of the world's total production of 3.8 billion tonnes. Most of Australia's black coal is mined in New South Wales and Queensland, with approximately 70% exported, mainly to Japan. This makes Australia the world's largest exporter of black coal.
Brown coal is largely used for energy production, and in 2015-2016, it generated 19% of Australia's electricity, down from 20.2% in 2014-2015. During the 2015-2016 financial year, Australia was the fourth-largest producer of brown coal in the world, after Germany, the Russian Federation, and the United States.
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Brown coal in Western Australia
Brown coal, or lignite, is the lowest rank of coal. Although it is present in all states of Australia, it is most abundant in the Gippsland Basin in Victoria. Gippsland Basin is also home to the Loy Yang Complex and Yallourn W power stations, which are located in the Latrobe Valley within the Gippsland Region of Victoria. The Latrobe Valley is also where the majority of Australia's recoverable brown coal EDR is located. During the 2015-2016 financial year, brown coal generated 19% of Australian electricity, down from 20.2% during 2014-2015.
Smaller amounts of brown coal are also located in the Otway, Murray (shared with South Australia) and Eucla (shared with South Australia) basins. In Western Australia, the Perth, Collie and Canning Basins are known to have significant reserves of coal. Smaller but still locally significant reserves of black coal can be found around Collie in Western Australia.
In 2016, Australia was the fourth-largest reported producer of brown coal in the world after Germany, the Russian Federation and the United States. Australia became the number one coal exporter in 1984 and in 2016, it was the biggest net exporter of coal, with 32% of global exports. In 2019-2020, Australia exported 390 Mt of coal (177 Mt metallurgical coal and 213 Mt thermal coal) and was the world's largest exporter of metallurgical coal and second-largest exporter of thermal coal.
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Frequently asked questions
Brown coal, also known as lignite, is found in all states of Australia but is most abundant in the Gippsland Basin in Victoria.
Smaller amounts of brown coal are also located in the Otway, Murray and Eucla basins, which span Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
Brown coal is largely used for energy production in Australia, with more than half of the nation's electricity sourced from coal power.
