Media Release

Spring Creek Mine officially reopened by Japanese Steelmaker

Solid Energy's Spring Creek Underground Mine, near Greymouth, has been officially "reopened" by Mr Jiro Kobayashi, Coal & Fuel Manager of Nippon Steel, one of the company's largest and longest standing export customers.

The photo shows Mr Kobayashi with Solid Energy's Grey District Manager, Wayne Merriman, at the portal of Spring Creek Mine.

Mr Kobayashi and his colleague, Assistant Manager, Mr Tomohiro Shirakawa, were the first overseas customers to visit Spring Creek since mining recommenced in early September 2002.

Around 45 people are now on site, led by Mine Manager, Greg Duncan, undertaking the development work to access the Main Upper and Main Lower seams. These converge to form the Main Seam, which is up to 30 metres thick. The mine is scheduled to produce around 800,000 tonnes a year - double the producion of Solid Energy's nearby Strongman 2 Mine - once full production is reached at the end of 2003. The low sulphur, low ash, semi-soft coking coal will be used by leading Japanese steel manufacturers and for thermal power generation. There are estimated reserves of 250 million tonnes in the Spring Creek Coal Mining Licence area.

Spring Creek will replace Strongman 2 Mine next year securing continuity of supply for Solid Energy's steel making customers. All Strongman staff will be progressively transferred to the new mine and new staff have been recruited. By the end of 2003 about 100 people will work at Spring Creek.

Barry Bragg, General Manager of Solid Energy International, comments: "We've had an excellent start to the development work at Spring Creek, however over the first two years of the first five-year mine plan we need to achieve a number of milestones before proving production by hydraulic mining and confirming the mine's long term feasibility."

A surface dewatering plan will be built at the mine in 2003 and the washery completed and commissioned. A temporary rail load out will be used until monitor production is proven in around two years' time. Work will also start next year into exploration and geological modelling of further semi-soft reserves to the north and thermal reserves to the west for detailed planning of the following five-year mine plan.

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