Target $18.72, page-1066

Most mines have possibilities for extension if the coal price is high enough. Some people don't appreciate that reserves are dependent on coal price and the reason for mines stopping production is usually not because they run out of coal but because the coal remaining is too expensive to mine. If there is a step change in coal price (as we have seen) then the paperwork and capital required to progress an extension for an existing mine are much less than for a new mine.

New greenfields mines are largely off the table now in Australia. They are politically difficult and as Acland 3 showed, they will get held up with litigation every step of the way - 15 years it took New Hope and that wasn't even a greenfields mine. Unless the various governments act to prevent this (which they won't) it's a very unappealing prospect to try and start up a new mine with the high likelihood of losing your capital along the way.