Speaking in Lithgow near the iconic Miner’s Lamp at the western entrance to town, Mr Moult stressed the mine was not closing. 

“It is being placed on a care and maintenance footing so that it can be returned to service within a few months,” Mr Moult said.

At the very latest it is expected to return to production in 2023 when it has been calculated the company’s Springvale mine’s reserves will be exhausted.

Angus Place’s workforce was informed on Tuesday that the colliery will cease production from the new year with ‘mothballing’ to take effect from February.

It was a shock announcement that mineworkers said they had not seen coming. 

Up to 160 employees will lose their jobs, impacting on not only Lithgow but also Bathurst and the Blue Mountains whose residents make up part of the workforce.

Mr Moult said it was entirely the international coal price decline that had led to the shutdown.

He said the export coal price facing companies was around half what it had been four years ago.

“The slide has been from around $120 a tonne to just $60,” he said.

He said Angus Place had been an efficient mine but now needed to expand, and the necessary $250 million investment could not be justified in the present climate.

Of the 260 or so employees at Angus Place, the company plans to redeploy ‘at least 100’ to Springvale and Clarence.

Mr Moult said this figure could be higher, depending on how many employees  opted for voluntary redundancy offers.

He said there was no current threat to the company’s Springvale, Clarence and Airly mines.

The company currently has applications before the State Planning and Environment Department for extensions of operations at Springvale and Airly.

Angus Place was established 30 years ago by the then Electricity Commission to provide coal for Wallerawang power station, linked by a private haul road.

The colliery had been providing more than two million tonnes a year to Wallerawang, and the closure of the power station earlier this year after full privatisation also had an impact on the Angus Place operation.

Mr Moult said, however, that this was not the key factor in the current situation.

He said around 70 employees would continue in completing current mining operations until February.