Queensland’s coal sector has lost sales worth A$2,3-billion because of flooding and wet weather, the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) said last week.

There was still flood water in many mine sites weeks after the floods hit and teams were working around the clock to remove the water as quickly as possible.

The QRC estimates about 15% of the state’s coal mines are in full production, with 60% operating under restrictions and a further 25% yet to resume normal operations.

“Just as there is an urgent need to pump water out of buildings in the Brisbane CBD so they can get back to business, the state’s mines are facing the same urgent need.”

Today, the Queensland mines are operating at about 60-70 percent capacity.

The fundamentals of demand are very good – from India, China, from our traditional markets in Asia and Europe and are helping keep the mining community strong.

The CEO of the QRC, Mr Roche, said “Our biggest problem at the moment is not demand – it’s our ability to supply that demand.  “Three out of every four mines have to seek special approval to pump excess water which is hampering their ability to get back to full production.”

There are still some mines that have no rail service which is severely impacting on the mines operations and economic benefit to the state.

Although the mines have been affected, severely in some cases, this is likely to cause little impact on the prices of homes surrounding the mines where local and FIFO miners live. Within months the mines will be back up to full capacity and the demand for miners to live close to the mines will be ramped up. There may even be an increase in demand for some locations as mines decide to ramp up capacity to make up for the financial shortfall caused by the floods earlier this year.

Knowing what to look for is critical when buying a property near a mine site and now that the most recent floods have been and gone, the focus on ensuring design and development of new homes meets the current flood standards is a must.