"Hi Ho...
Trip Start
Feb 28, 2006
1
54
125
Trip End
Aug 20, 2008
Moura,
Australia
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Well, you probably know the rest! Yes, I'm off to the mines. Sadly not a diamond mine (so no smuggled gems for me) and not even a gold mine - I was off to a coal mine. Woo hoo!
Another 4am start had me out at the airport in plenty of time (even after a wrong turn!) to get my flight up to Biloela Airport in Northern Queensland. I was really starting to suffer from lack of sleep by this point (yes I know, a combination of work and socialising, but it had to be done!) and I knew that some serious presentations, questions and hopefully answers were required to be handled...
After meeting Richard from the company up there at the airport it was time to drive off to the mine site at Moura and see the locations that they were currently pumping out the CBM (Methane). Fairly clever stuff (it's ok I won't get too boring here!) with pumps installed to get rid of the water which in turn depressurises the coal and releases the Coal Bed Methane. It flows to surface through the pipes (very well behaved of it!) and then is sold off to the big gas companies in Australia. The water is generally left to sit in an evaporation lake or in beds for livestock water - given the water shortage over there I'd have thought that there would have been a market for it but never mind!
All very interesting I'm sure you'll agree and good to see. Even more importantly my presentations went very well too and it sounds very promising for the future!
At the end of a very long day I was back at the airport and in the air after a slight delay back towards Brisbane. Needless to say I had no energy when I got back and managed a short walk from the hotel before deciding that sleep was the best plan and taking advantage of the nice big hotel bed - bliss!.
Biloela Airport
