Here is a collage from our tour of Port Waratah Coal Services in Newcastle on Monday.
It was fascinating to see some of the processes the coal goes through after it is dropped from the coal train onto the conveyor belts.
Here you can see some of the processes involved from the reclaimer putting the coal onto the conveyor belts, the stacker pouring the coal onto the stockpiles, the scoop collecting the coal to be put onto the coal loader to be poured into the holds on ships and the water spray to damp down the coal to stop dust from being blown about and also to reduce the heat from the sun and creating spontaneous combustion within the coal.
We had a really fun and interesting day and the weather was perfect too as you can see from the blue sky.
@pusspup Ha ha, I agree. I was born in a Yorkshire mining town so I guess coal is in my blood.
@cruiser It was Interesting Chris, maybe next time you are in Newcastle you can book a tour. The tours are free and take about 2 hours. Check out the PWCS website.
Still mining coal over there? Brings to mind the saying" Taking coals to Newcastle'. This metaphor was already well known in the mid-1500s, when Newcastle-upon-Tyne had been a major coal-mining center for 400 years
@maggiemae Yes we still mine coal in Australia and I know the saying well from the UK. They used to mine coal in our Newcastle too, but not for a long time. Our coal in New South Wales now is mined in the Hunter Valley.
@pusspup Ha ha, I agree. I was born in a Yorkshire mining town so I guess coal is in my blood.
@cruiser It was Interesting Chris, maybe next time you are in Newcastle you can book a tour. The tours are free and take about 2 hours. Check out the PWCS website.
@olivetreeann Thanks Ann. No, the machines aren't noisy at all. In fact we didn't hear a sound.
@happypat Most of our coal is mainly exported to either China, Japan, India and South Korea