Sydney Basin

The Sydney Basin is part of the Sydney–Gunnedah–Bowen Basin system, a major basin system extending from southern coastal New South Wales to central Queensland. The total onshore area of the Sydney Basin is approximately 44 000 km2 with an offshore component of about 5 000 km2. The Sydney Basin overlies the Early to Middle Palaeozoic Lachlan Orogen.

The Permo-Triassic Sydney Basin hosts four coal measure sequences, namely the Greta, Tomago/Wittingham, Illawarra and Newcastle coal measures. Coal is extracted from four coalfields within the basin: Hunter, Newcastle, Western and Southern.

The coal produced is bituminous coking and thermal coal. The quality of thermal coal ranges from medium to high ash, low sulfur coal used for domestic power generation and cement manufacture; to medium to low ash, high energy, export quality coal. Prime, low volatile, hard coking coal and low ash, semi-soft coking coal, used for iron and steel production, supply both the export and domestic markets.