New South Wales will officially announce its state order for a supply control of coal production by mid-February.
The Australian government would issue final directions that will require all mining firms in New South Wales, the country’s biggest coal exporting state, to reserve as much as 10% of their output for domestic supply.
A Department of Planning and Environment spokesperson said the government will discuss with miners before issuing the final order.
The order is designed to lower the cost of living for households in Australia, caused by power bills. Still, the government did not specify how many tonnes of coal will be required to meet its target. Whitehaven Coal Chief Executive Paul Flynn expected the reserve to be around 3-5 million tonnes.
Miners have been under pressure since December after the government put a price cap on coal prices at A$125 a tonne, which was well below the export price at about $265 a tonne.
The mines in New South Wales are mainly owned by Glencore Plc, Peabody Energy, New Hope Corp and Thailand’s leading coal producer Banpu Public Company Limited (SET: BANPU).
