Hunter coal mine announces staged closure, immediate redundancies

One of the Hunter's largest coal mining companies will close one of its mines within 18 months, taking almost 300 jobs with it.

On Tuesday morning, Yancoal told its Ashton coal mine workforce the mine would be closed in stages, with final closure in January 2028, due to geological issues.

At an emergency town hall meeting at Singleton's Civic Centre, the company announced there would be 60 redundancies immediately, including 41 from the production operation team and 19 technical supervisors.

The redundancies will initially be voluntary, however union officials say the mine has a reasonably young workforce and it may turn into forced redundancies.

There will be further 69 job cuts in January 2027. The remaining 146 jobs will be made redundant when the mine closes the following year.

It's understood technical and geological issues are at the centre of the mine's closure. The Ashton underground mine is one of the oldest in the state, but has recently faced several issues, including water seeping into the tunnels.

All development work at the coal mine has also been immediately halted.

Mining and Energy Union (MEU) northern district president Robin Williams said the immediate 60 job cuts was "a serious blow" for workers, their families and the winder Hunter communities.

"The prospect of further job losses in 2027, ahead of the mine's planned closure in early 2028, is sobering news and will leave many local families deeply concerned about their future," Mr Williams said.

He called on Yancoal to provide workers with every reasonable opportunity to redeploy within the region, and provide them with appropriate notice, training, financial advice and transition support.

"We expect Yancoal to actively pursue redeployment opportunities across its broader Hunter Valley operations, particularly given the strong performance of its other mines in the region," he said.

Located 15 kilometres north-west of Singleton along the New England Highway, the mine employs 275 people and produces about 2.5 million tonnes of coal a year.

Yancoal has been approached for comment.

More details to come.

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