Boundary Hill celebrates 40 years powering Queensland homes

Boundary Hill celebrates 40 years in September this year, one of four mining areas within the Callide Mine, powering Queensland homes since 1983. 

On September 23, 1983, the Boundary Hill site was officially unveiled, opened by the Queensland Premier at the time, in the presence of customers, employees and joint venture partners Theiss Bros, Shell and AMP. 

 “We are proud to celebrate 40 years of success at Boundary Hill, a site that has contributed greatly to the power demands of the state of Queensland,” said Batchfire Resources CEO Allan Fidock. 

“Much of the Callide Mine’s success can be attributed to Boundary Hill, because it is a pit that has always punched well above its weight in terms of efficiency and productivity.” 

One worker who spent much of his mining career at Boundary Hill is Greg Burrows, who started at the Callide Mine in the early 1980s as a carpenter and remembers the day it opened. 

“We had lots of good times back then,” he said, reminiscing about Boundary Hill. 

“It was more relaxed back then and, in those days, we only had three 170-tonne trucks and two 85-tonne loaders.” 

Miners were put to work wherever needed in those days, with many working their way through a myriad of on-site roles before finding what they liked best.  

“We did it all at Boundary Hill and there was a time there when a group of us were the Shop Crew, tyre fitters, carpenters – we really did do the lot!” Greg said.  

“I was even on the trucks for a stint, then I worked in the coal plant, then the drills. It was always changing.” 

Greg’s favourite job, having done an impressive array of roles at Callide, was his time in the Shop Crew at Boundary Hill.  

“It was the Shop Crew by far – it was good times,” he said. “We were in the sun all day, working hard outside, but we had a good crew and it was a pleasure working with them.  

“When Callide and Boundary Hill shop crews joined up, I went back to the drills.” 

The Boundary Hill site is located roughly 20km from Biloela and remains one of four mining areas alongside Trap Gully, Dunn Creek and The Hut. 

Across the years, Boundary Hill has contributed around 70 million tonnes of coal in total and currently 3 million tonnes of coal annually, much of it transported by rail to the nearby Gladstone power station where it has been used to generate electricity for the state, to QAL alumina refinery and for export.  

“The achievements at Boundary Hill are testament to Batchfire’s sustainable approach to coal mining, and we would like to thank the employees past and present who make the site such a success,” said Mr Fidock.  

The mine has provided a significant number of jobs for the local region across its operating life and continues to do so today. 

Employees these days don’t do quite as many jobs at once though, and they benefit from Batchfire’s unique family-friendly roster! 

To find out more about Batchfire you can connect with us on LinkedIn or contact us here.