November 24, 2025 - The State Government has declared a $662 million extension proposal for Peabody Energy’s Centurion coal mine as a coordinated project.

The Centurion North Development Project, 40km north of Moranbah, is expected to secure more than 500 mining jobs.

Peabody president and chief executive officer Jim Grech described the coordinated project declaration as a significant milestone in the company’s further development of Centurion mine.

“We thank the Crisafulli Government for recognizing the strategic importance of this cornerstone steelmaking coal project, which builds on the planned February 2026 startup of longwall production for Centurion’s southern district,” Grech said.

“Steelmaking coal remains essential for producing the steel that underpins modern life, from homes and bridges to hospitals and renewable energy infrastructure.

“Centurion is also advancing our safety and sustainability commitments by extracting coal seam gas ahead of mining to improve safety and cut emissions, reusing the gas to power the operations and converting surplus into LNG to boost regional supply.”

Queensland Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dale Last said the Centurion North Development Project was a major vote of confidence in the state’s coal industry.

“Our message to industry is clear: if you’re willing to invest in Queensland and create regional jobs, we’ll give you the certainty you need to get on with it,” he said.

Peabody in late 2022 committed to a redevelopment project to bring its North Goonyella coal mine back online after the operation was taken out of action by an underground fire in 2018.

In December 2023, it announced it was renaming the rebooted North Goonyella site as the Centurion mine to reflect the addition of neighboring Wards Well coal resources after a deal with Stanmore Resources.

The Centurion North Development Project would extend mining from the southern area at the site into the adjoining northern area as part of the full Centurion mine plan.

The operation is expected to export steelmaking coal through to 2055.

It is expected to produce up to 7.1Mtpa of run-of-mine coal and extract up to 10 petajoules of coal seam gas to manage underground methane levels while providing energy.

Queensland Coordinator-General Gerard Coggan highlighted the significance of the coordinated project process.

“This declaration will ensure a comprehensive assessment of the project’s environmental, social, and economic impacts,” Coggan said.

“My office will work with Peabody to ensure all approvals required for this project are achieved on time.”