Bowen Coking Coal has entered voluntary administration, placing around 500 regional jobs at risk and highlighting the economic instability of Queensland’s coal industry.
The company owns eight coal projects across the Bowen Basin, including the Burton Mine Complex. Two of its mines – Bluff and Broadmeadow East – have already been placed under care and maintenance, and the future of the Burton Complex now hangs in the balance amid falling coal prices and rising operational costs.
According to the World Bank, coal prices are expected to decline further in 2026 due to weak demand from Asia and an oversupplied global market.
Despite this outlook, Bowen Coking Coal is still seeking approval to open a new coal mine at the Burton Complex – New Lenton Coal.
Dr Coral Rowston, Director of Environmental Advocacy in Central Queensland (EnvA), said:
“Bowen Coking Coal’s claim that the New Lenton mine ‘will contribute to additional certainty of employment’ is laughable.
“Jobs are already at risk at the company’s existing mines.
“There is absolutely no justification for the destruction of another 650 hectares of wildlife habitat and waterways when the world is moving away from fossil fuels.
“Leading scientists and international organisations have made it clear: if we’re serious about meeting emissions targets and avoiding climate catastrophe, no new coal or gas projects should be approved.
“The tired rhetoric that new coal mines create jobs and revenue is crumbling. Even the Queensland Resources Council has acknowledged that rising costs and falling prices are putting pressure on the industry.
“We need governments to protect our environment and our climate—not to greenlight projects that will end up as abandoned scars on our landscape.”
Extra information:
EnvA’s submission on the New Lenton Coal proposal is here
Our follow up correspondence to the federal Environment Minister is here
EnvA - CQ 