NRG Flinders - Leigh Creek Mine
| Site | Leigh Creek Mine |
| Location | Leigh Creek, SA, Australia |
| System | 2 instrument |
| Commissioned | 2005 |
The black coal mined from an open cut mine is transported 250 km by rail to power stations outside on the east side of the top of Spencer Gulf. Early this century, this task was undertaken by the owned FreightCorp. span>[1] The coal occurs in several nested bowl-shaped seams, each several metres thick. The coalfield at Leigh Creek is operated by the NRG Flinders and currently produces over 2.5 million tonnes a year of coal. NRG Flinders also operate the power stations at Port Augusta which produce up to 40 per cent of the electricity generated in South Australia.
In 1888, John Henry Reid discovered coal-bearing shale during the sinking of a railway dam in the Leigh Creek area. This discovery led to a geological examination of the area by a government geologist and the establishment of underground workings. No 1 shaft, sunk by the Leigh Creek Coal Mining Company, was abandoned on striking a heavy flow of water. A new shaft was sunk in 1892 but only small quantities of coal were extracted for experimental purposes and operations ceased in 1894.
It was not until 1940 when coal supplies became critically low because of the Second World War that Leigh Creek coal was considered again. The deposits seemed extensive and extracting the coal by open cut methods was considered feasible. Exploratory boring started in 1941 and plans were made to develop the first open cut mine. Excavation started in 1943 under the control of the Engineering & Water Supply Department. It was apparent that the electricity supply industry would be the largest user of Leigh Creek coal so control of the coalfield was transferred to the (ETSA) in 1948.
ETSA ordered boilers capable of burning Leigh Creek coal for the near Port Adelaide and, after thorough investigations, decided to establish a power station at Port Augusta to burn Leigh Creek coal exclusively. The combined A and B plants, with a total generating capacity of 330 megawatts, was named the Thomas Playford Station in recognition of the then South Australian Premier, Sir Thomas Playford.
The use of large excavating machines and efficient mining equipment at Leigh Creek, together with the rebuilding of a railway line between Leigh Creek and Port Augusta by the Commonwealth Railways (later Australian National, now Pacific National), resulted in economic production and delivery of coal to the power station. Pacific National currently provides the coal freight service to Flinders Power.
In the mid 1970s it was decided to build a 500 megawatt station at Port Augusta, called the Northern Power Station. That decision meant enlarging the coalfield using new methods to extract deeper coal, increasing production, building a retention dam to prevent possible flooding of the field and diverting the main highway around the coalfield. The Northern Power Station, alongside Playford A and B, was commissioned in 1985. Because the existing town was located within the coal basin, a new town was built south of the coalfield and the new Leigh Creek became occupied in 1980.
Since the early 1990s, more changes occurred in Leigh Creek. Massive restructuring of mining operations resulted in the reduction of a workforce of over 750 to about 200. The township also became a lot smaller. The population dropped from about 2500 in 1987 to less than 700 today. The loss of residents also resulted in the loss of many services. Whilst most workers at the coalfields make a good income, the high cost of communication and services drastically reduce the disposable income. Schooling at Leigh Creek has become a bigger problem than ever before. Reasonable education is available for younger students in the primary school. For high school students, the meagre subject choice has made education at the Leigh Creek Area School not the ideal option for many students. Many parents have to send their children away at 13 years old, to get a good education in Adelaide or regional cities like Port Augusta.[ citation needed] A simple medical procedure may require a trip to Adelaide, which means a round trip of about 1200 km.
