Queensland’s mining sector has been dealt another blow after Anglo American and BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) announced nearly 1,000 job cuts across the state.
Anglo American said it had conducted a review in response to "ongoing market pressures" and confirmed more than 200 staff had been affected, mainly at its Brisbane office but also across Central Queensland operations.
Vice president Ben Mansour said a significant portion of the cuts had been made through voluntary redundancies, including among workers at the Grosvenor underground coal mine, which has remained closed since a fire in June last year.
"A substantial proportion of reductions have been achieved through voluntary redundancy, and we are committed to supporting our people through this transition with access to outplacement services and wellbeing support," he was reported saying in a statement.
"For more than a year, we've worked to protect the jobs of our Grosvenor workforce — including redeploying roles to our other underground operations.
"The phased nature of the re-entry work, carried out in close co-ordination with regulators, means we are now in a position to engage unions and our Grosvenor enterprise agreement workforce in a voluntary redundancy expression of interest process, which is in its very early stages."
The announcement came just days after BMA confirmed it would mothball its Saraji South mine at Dysart in the Bowen Basin from November, cutting 750 jobs.
The company said it would also review the viability of its Mackay-based FutureFit Academy training centre.
BMA, known as part of "the big Australian", blamed its decision on the state’s coal royalty framework and softer market conditions.
"The simple fact is the Queensland coal industry is approaching a crisis point," BMA asset president Adam Lancey said. "This is now having real impacts on regional jobs, communities and small businesses."
Queensland’s mineral royalty system uses a tiered structure that takes a portion of mining returns, with coal royalties delivering billions of dollars to state coffers.
Premier David Crisafulli, who inherited the regime from the former Miles government, has repeatedly ruled out making changes, saying the framework is locked in until at least 2029–30.
