A look at Rolleston: Everything a coal mine would want

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posted:25/03/2025

Welcome to Rolleston, the small Queensland town where the people are friendly, the pub is always welcoming and the local mine produces more than 12 million tonnes of thermal coal per year.

Located in the southern part of Queensland’s Bowen Basin, Rolleston Open Cut has been in operation since 2005, producing coal primarily for export. It consists of mining operations that extend more than 60km in length, with the majority of the active mining areas measuring about 10km long.

Keeping the site streamlined and efficient is a workforce of around 900 people and an extensive array of equipment.

“Rolleston has everything a coal mine would want, including two large electric draglines, three electric rope shovels, four hydraulic excavators, more than 20 dozers, five graders, four blasthole drills and 46 rear dump trucks,” says Paul Sear, Operations Manager and SSE, who first joined the Rolleston team in 2010.

After being excavated, the coal is loaded into train carriages and transported either to domestic markets or for international export via the ports at Gladstone over 300km away.

But the focus isn’t just on mining at Rolleston Open Cut – the workforce is also deeply invested in returning the landscape to what it was pre-mining.

The operation is guided by a comprehensive Environmental Management System (EMS) that covers all aspects of the site, from design and development to production, maintenance and rehabilitation.

The site has now achieved Queensland Government certification for almost 400 hectares (equivalent to 5,347 rugby league fields) of rehabilitation work to land that was previously mined. Its proximity to Albinia National Park has also seen the operation help reinstate endangered native grassland species.

“Rehabilitation is something we really care about,” says Paul. “Our team aims to rehabilitate the land for cattle grazing as soon as possible and our success can be seen through final rehab certification from the Government.”

The other great thing about working at Rolleston Open Cut is the people. “They genuinely care about each other and putting the land back to its original land use,” says Paul.

It’s these two factors that make Paul love his job. “The role of the Operations Manager is one that I am truly privileged to have been given the opportunity to take on,” he says.

“I love the engagement with our people and the technical challenges that mining always manages to deliver, and I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”