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

Australia's coal industry has seen a rapid expansion of open-cut mining, which grew by 224% between 1990 and 2022 and now accounts for over 85% of total production. This shift has led to a decrease in reported emissions intensity because open-cut mines rely on gas models from 1991 for estimates rather than direct measurement. Consequently, reported fugitive emissions from surface mines have grown at a significantly slower rate than production; for example, since 2005, production increased by 45% while fugitive emissions only rose by 13%.

• Open-cut coal mining has become the dominant form of production in Australia, growing by 224% between 1990 and 2022. Its share of total national coal production rose from just under 70% in 1990 to more than 85% by 2022.
• The transition to open-cut mining has increased the proportion of fugitive emissions that are estimated rather than measured. While underground mines use direct measurement, open-cut mines use gas models developed in 1991.
• Reported fugitive emissions from open-cut mines have grown at a much slower rate than the growth in production. Between 1990 and 2022, production grew by approximately 224%, while fugitive emissions increased by only 95%.
• Since the 2005 international emissions baseline, open-cut coal production in Australia increased by 45%, but reported fugitive emissions from the sector 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} }