Wesfarmers approves $286m coal upgrade

Wesfarmers has today approved a $286 million expansion of its Curragh coal mine in Queensland after striking an agreement with Stanwell Corporation.

The diversified company said the expansion will result in an increase in annual production of up to 8.5 million tonnes, underpinned by access to an additional 46mt of reserves currently held by Stanwell.

"Stanwell will benefit through a new export rebate formula linked to Curragh metallurgical coal sales above 7.0mtpa," Wesfarmers said in a statement.

The $286 million expansion includes the construction of a new stand-alone coal handling and preparation plant as well as mine infrastructure. The expansion is expected to be completed by late 2011.

The expansion approval comes ahead of a Wesfarmers shareholders meeting this afternoon.

Shares in Wesfarmers climbed 63 cents to $27.32 at 13:55 AEDT.