page_title: Hunter Valley Coal Chain
section_title: The chain
hierarchical_section_title: Hunter Valley Coal Chain / The chain
caption_attribution_description: English: Coal loader - Port Waratah, Newcastle, NSW
context_page_description: The Hunter Valley Coal Chain is the chain of coal delivery in New South Wales, Australia from coal mines in the Hunter Region to the Port of Newcastle and domestic coal-fired power stations in the Hunter Valley. The HVCC essentially follows the path of the Hunter River travelling south-east from the mining areas in the Hunter Valley to Newcastle.
  The HVCC mainly deals in the sea-borne export coal trade, especially to Asia. It is one of six major coal chains in Australia:
  four in Queensland: Abbot Point, Dalrymple Bay/Hay Point, Gladstone and Brisbane; and
  two in New South Wales: the Ports of Newcastle and Port Kembla.
  The port of Newcastle is the world's largest coal export port. Rising demand for coal, particularly in the Asian region has resulted in a strong increase in the volume of coal exported through the port. In 2013 port throughput was 150.5 million tonnes, up from 68 million tonnes in 2000.
context_section_description: Coal generally goes through the following stages between mine and port:
  The producer makes arrangements to sell coal to a buyer on certain terms.
  The coal is mined (most of the coal mines in the Hunter Valley are open cut mines, also known as open pit mines), processed, blended and stored either at a railway siding located at the mine or at a coal loading facility (used by several mines).
  The coal is then transported to the Port of Newcastle, almost exclusively by rail. Some coal is transported to the port by road, but this generally requires permission from the local council (due to the effect on roadways and other infrastructure) and is also usually more costly per tonne than rail transport.
  The coal is offloaded at the port onto stockpiles in the Port Waratah Coal Services and Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group facilities.
  Once the vessel arrives at the port, the coal is loaded onto the vessel.
  The vessel then transports the coal to its destination determined by the buyer.
caption: Coal loader at Port Waratah, Newcastle
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