Shift to open-cut Coal Mining and impact on emissions estimate

This report by Ember examines the transition in Australia's coal industry from underground to open-cut mining between 1990 and 2022, highlighting a growing reliance on estimated rather than measured fugitive emissions data.

• Open-cut coal mining has expanded rapidly in Australia over the last 30 years, increasing its share of total coal production from just under 70% in 1990 to more than 85% by 2022. Production in open-cut mines grew by 224% between 1990 and 2022, rising from approximately 190 million tonnes in 1990 to a peak of 516 million tonnes in 2019.
• Underground coal mining production peaked at 125 million tonnes in 2015 and 2016 before contracting to 89 million tonnes. Its share of total production dropped from over 30% in 1990 to just over 15% since 2018.
• The shift toward open-cut mining has increased the reliance on estimated fugitive emissions, as open-cut mines use gas models from 1991 instead of the direct measurement approach used by underground mines. This has led to a decrease in reported emissions intensity that has been questioned by the Climate Change Authority and peer-reviewed satellite comparisons.
• Reported fugitive emissions from open-cut mines have grown at a significantly slower rate than production. Between 1990 and 2022, production grew by 224% while fugitive emissions increased by 95%. Since the 2005 international emissions baseline, open-cut production increased by 45% while fugitive emissions grew by only 13%.

APA

Ember (2025). Shift to open-cut Coal Mining and impact on emissions estimate. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/shift-to-open-cut-coal-mining-impact-on-emissions-estimate/

Chicago

Ember. Shift to open-cut Coal Mining and impact on emissions estimate. 2025. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/shift-to-open-cut-coal-mining-impact-on-emissions-estimate/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Shift to open-cut Coal Mining and impact on emissions estimate |date=27 March 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/shift-to-open-cut-coal-mining-impact-on-emissions-estimate/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2025shift, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Shift to open-cut Coal Mining and impact on emissions estimate}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = mar, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/shift-to-open-cut-coal-mining-impact-on-emissions-estimate/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }