Coal Mine Site - Muja Open Cut

Statement of Significance

Muja Open Cut Mine (formerly Hebe Deep Cut Mine), Coalfields Hwy, Muja, is considered to have cultural heritage significance for its association with coal mining in the Collie region and for its influence on the development of the region following discovery of the Hebe coal seam.

Physical Description

Open cut mine which joins the Muja open cut mine with a lotal length of four kilometres and a depth of 200m.

History

A government exploration borehole revealed the Hebe coal seam in 1952. Like other coal seams, this seam was named after a mythological Greek God, Hebe, goddess of youth. In January 1955 Mines Minister Lionel Kelly advised that Collie coal production had exceeded one million tons per year from deep and open cut mining activities with over 1700 men employed on the coalfields. In February of that year it was reported that workers from the Griffin Mine were being transferred to the new Hebe Colliery at South Muja (Sunday Times 6 February 1955, p16). The Hebe mine was flooded in April 1965 when a borehole hit an aquifer. An estimated 5 millions gallons of water flowed into the mine every 24 hours. The deep cut mine, which was abandoned following the flood, employed about 230 men and produced about 1000 tons of coal a day at the time. Griffin continued to operate the open cut mine. Premier Coal (Western Collieries at the time) began work on the seam in 1997. In September 2012, the Collie Mail reported that mining of the Hebe coal seam would cease in November. The General Manager of Premier Coal said that the development of Collie was significantly influenced by the discovery of the Hebe Seam. ‘Most of the power stations on the coalfield, including Muja, were only built after the Hebe seam was discovered.’

Integrity/Authenticity

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Historic Themes

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