CANBERRA: Exports of coal from the Port of Gladstone in Queensland, Australia, ended 2017 on a high, registering the strongest monthly exports for the year in December, Gladstone Ports Corporation data showed Wednesday. It shipped 6.31 million mt of coal in December, down 11% year on year and up 17% month on month, the GPC data showed. The port’s exports typically comprise around 70% of metallurgical coal and 30% of thermal coal. Total exports from the port for full-year 2017 was 68.29 million mt, down 2% year on year. It’s the lowest yearly total since 2013, when 62.74 million mt was exported, the data showed.
Coal exports from the Port of Gladstone come via the RG Tanna terminal, which has a nameplate capacity of 60 million mt/year, and from the Wiggins Island terminal.