Whitehaven Coal (WHC) Update July 28th, 2026
This is not a recommendation or proposal to do anything. The data written in this article is not guarranteed. It is my private personal opinion. I own coal shares that`s why I`m not independing.
WHC bought the BHP Daunia and Blackwater metallurgical coal mines for up to $US4.1 billion ($6.4 billion AUD) in Queensland (25). In 2024 WHC made cash setlements of US$2,044m. In Q2/26 WHC paid 500M$. Further payments followed and will follow. It doubled the coal production to about 40m tons/yr.
Whitehaven operates now 7 coal mines in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. The share of the Blackwate is 70%.
Chances & Risks
As the coal demand in Asia seems to remain stable for the years to come - most coal power plants in Asia have an age <20 years - capex spend on coal projects is low in the countries producing seaborne coal due to the green religion and the dogma of "Climate change" - a supply gap for seaborne coal seems to be very likely in the coming years.
Coal prices and especially thermal coal prices plummeted since 2022 but recovered with the Iran war in H1/2026.
Transportation costs 15$/ton from Australia to China.
Whitehaven is profitable with thermal and metallurgical coal again.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Royalty Systems
Queensland established a royalty system where companies must pay 20 per cent for prices above A$175, 30 per cent for prices above A$225 and 40 per cent for prices above A$300. The Winchester South project in Queensland got lower priority. The purchased Blackwater and Daunia mines are as well situated in Queensland.
The NSW State Government increased its coal royalty with effect from 1 July 2024. The new royalty rate for open cut mining in NSW is 10.8% (up from 8.2%), while the rate for underground mining is 9.8% (up from 7.2%).
Average Royalties of A$25/t paid in FY25 (compared with A$21/t in FY24) in QLD $29/t and NSW $20/t in FY25. In q2/26 (oct. - dec. 2025) average royalties decreased to 21 AUD/ton. Average royalties paid in 2026 were 22 AUD in fiscal year 2026.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NSW (New South Wales) Domestic Coal Reservation Scheme From 1 April 2023, Whitehaven’s NSW mines have been obliged to supply suitable thermal coal to NSW domestic power stations. These volumes are capped at 5% of each mine’s forecast saleable thermal coal production. It is assumed that this scheme will become extended for unforseeable time. The sale of 5% of its coal for a price that is about the production costs is a bearable burden.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sustaining share of the WHC capital expenditure is high, the expansionary share is low.
WHC Coal Mines
Maules Creek NSW produces high-CV thermal coal and semi-soft coking coal
Narrabri NSW produces high-CV thermal coal and PCI coal
Tarrawonga NSW produces high-CV thermal coal and semi-soft coking coal
Werris Creek NSW produced thermal coal and PCI coal but ceased production.
Daunia QLD is an open pit coal mine. The production of the Daunia coal mine is about 5.5 M met. coal/yr. with proven reserves of 68M tons.
The Blackwater mine QLD is as well an open pit coal mine. Its production is about 14 M tons of coal with total ressources of 1.6 bn tons of coal.
The Vickery thermal coal mine NSW is ramping-up production
Reserves 2023
There is a discepancy between the data from WHC and an article published in Australian Mining on Jan 11, 2023. According to that only the exploration licence not a production licence was given to WHC (11)
Growth Projects
The Vickery coal mine is ramping-up production.
The Winchester South project in Queensland is still in the approval process.
Dec. 17, 2025 Underpinned by an extensive drilling and modelling campaign across the Queensland operation Whitehaven said Blackwater’s total recoverable reserves have risen from 191 million tonnes (Mt) to 365Mt, while total coal resources increased from 1817Mt to 1919Mt. (27)
WHC fiscal year is from July 1st - June 30th
Share Price 28.04.2026: 8 AUD/share about 5.76 USD.
Customers in 1000 AUD Comparison Revenue by geographic location
Most of the coal from WHC is sold to East Asian countries. The biggest growth potential has India.
Share Buy-Back
Whitehaven continued the share buy-back in FY 26. In FY26, 10.1 million shares were bought back
Tax Situation:
Austrlian companies pay their dividends 100%
Australien verzichtet auf die Erhebung der Quellensteuer, sofern die Dividenden aus Gewinnen bezahlt werden, die bei der australischen Gesellschaft voll besteuert worden sind (franked dividends) oder es sich um die Ausschüttung von so genanntem „conduit foreign income“ handelt. Andere Dividenden werden weiterhin mit 30 % besteuert, wobei die Quellensteuer aufgrund des DBA, je nachdem, auf 15 %, 5 % oder 0 % herabgesetzt wird.
Some News
2026/04/13 Whitehaven Coal has secured a new $US600 million ($A853m) senior secured syndicated facility, strengthening its balance sheet https://www.australianmining.com.au/whitehavens-us600-million-funding-boost/
2023/09/02 The coking coal outlook for 2023 see (21)
2022/07/06 Green Lobby organizations - Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action – a client of the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO), a pro-bono law firm – has commenced judicial review proceedings in the NSW Land and Environment Court in respect of the matter (17).
2022/04/04 The Narrabi Extension project got the government approval. (15)
2022/02/14 NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) recommendation. After more than a year of review, the DPIE last month recommended that the Stage 3 Extension Project is in the public interest and approvable subject to conditions (14).
2021/10/12 Due to extreme low coal inventories in China China lifted the sanctions on Australian coal. (12)
2021/09/16 Whitehaven Vickery extension gets Federal nod
2021/04/15 ROM production guidance for the 2021 fiscal year fell from 21.4-22 million to 20.6-21.4 million tonnes. The updated unit cost guidance rose by 5 per cent from $69-72 to $73-75. (8)
2020/10/20 “In China, the arbitrage between domestic and import prices remain above $US25 ($35) per tonne, supporting the demand for imported coal and it is unclear if China will relax its custom clearance times and allow for further imports" (6). I assume that China limited imports to support its own coal industry.
2020/10/15 Whitehaven Coal has paused three key development projects, including the Narrabri and Vickery extension projects in New South Wales and the Winchester South metallurgical coal project in Queensland(6).
2020/10/12 China bans Australian coal imports as relations sour. China has suspended purchases of Australian coal. Chinese power stations and steel mills have been verbally told to immediately stop using Australian coal, and ports also have been told not to offload Australian coal, according to the report (5).
2020 05 The New South Wales Government has given Whitehaven Coal the all-clear to extend the Vickery coal mine in New South Wales (2).
Major Shareholders 30.06.2025
HSBC CUSTODY NOMINEES (AUSTRALIA) LTD 23.15%
J P MORGAN NOMINEES AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED 17.37%
CITICORP NOMINEES PTY LTD 11.33%
BNP PARIBAS NOMS PTY LTD 6.23%
AET SFS PTY LTD 3.2%
Basic Information
Rail haulage capacity Whitehaven has capacity within its two long-term rail haulage contracts for all current NSW based mine production plans (ARTC).
Port capacity Whitehaven exports coal through the Port of Newcastle using the two export terminal providers PWCS and NCIG.
Seaborne Coal Market
The global seaborne coal market has actually a size of about 950 M tons of thermal coal and about 230 M tons of met. coal. It is divided in the Atlantic and the Pacific market. The size of the Pacific market is x-fold that of the Atlantic market. The thermal coal market is expected to shrink to about 800 M tons of coal by 2035 while the market for met. coal is expected to increase.
Coal Quality Export Coal 2024
The WHC overall average energy content is about ~6200 kcal in FY25. The average ash content 10.3%.
Australia: Mostly coal 5600 - 6200 Kcal/Kg
Russia: Mostly coal 5600 - 6200 Kcal/Kg
Columbia, USA: Mostly coal 5600 - 6200 Kcal/Kg
South Africa: Mostly coal 5000 - 5600 Kcal/Kg
Indonesia: Mostly below 5000 Kcal/Kg
Germany Ruhr 7100 Kcal/Kg or 29700 KJ/Kg
Climate Related Shareholder Resolutions Sept. 03.2020
A risk for WHC are shareholder resolutions against the business purpose of the company by green minded institutional investors betraying their clients. The last ones got 40% of the vote and thus might intimidate the management see below.
A challenge for coal company`s is “Banks and insurers denying service to businesses directly and indirectly involved in the coal and the gas sectors is an unacceptable risk to an industry that helps fund the way of life many of us take for granted (16). Coal is underinvested since years.
Someone would expect that investors holding shares of coal mines, oil companies believe in a modern future based on such energies. Someone who believe in acid rain, "climate change" or other green dogma will not buy or have such shares. In the 70ies green NGO bought a few shares of nuclear operators and forwarded petitions that were regularly very clearly rejected.
Today there is the phenomen that shareholders of energy companies forward shareholder petitions against the business purpose of the company in favor of the green dogma of "climate change". These petitions getting more and more and getting more and more votes.
I assume that these petitions and votes are usually supported by institutional investors. That means investor that invest other poeples money. The managers of these funds are proud of their green believe. Instead of living acc. to their dogma avoid motor vehicles, ac, heating, electricity, air travel, computers, they live their believe on the costs of their customers. Many of the final beneficiaries of pension funds don`t have a choice others most probably does not know what these managers are doing with their money. According to my opinion it is betrayal of the customers.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-13/shareholder-fossil-fuel-resolution-whitehaven-coal/12546830
Old Stuff
The purchase price of the BHP Daunia and Blackwater mines comprised of: $US2.1 billion ($3.3 billion AUD) in cash that’s payable on completion, $US1.1 billion ($1.7 billion AUD) in cash to be paid in separate tranches on the first, second and third anniversary of the completion date and potentially $US900 million ($1.4 billion AUD) in a price-linked earn-out that will be payable over three years. WHC coal had a net cash position of 1.8 bn $ end of q4 2023. Many banks are not willing to finance coal activities. Thus WHC had to sell a 30% share of its newly aquired Blackwater coal mine in Queensland for 1.08 bn$ to Nippon Steel (20%) and JFE Steel to reduce its debt. The sale was completed in early 25.(26)
All in all the purchase of these mines doubled the WHC coal production.
Some References
27. Dec. 17, 2025 https://www.australianmining.com.au/blackwaters-big-boost-for-whitehavens-coal/
26. Aug 22, 2024 https://www.australianmining.com.au/whitehaven-sells-blackwater-stake-for-1-6b/
25. Oct. 19,2023 https://www.australianmining.com.au/whitehaven-to-acquire-key-bhp-coal-mines/
24. Sept. 19, 2023 https://www.australianmining.com.au/whitehaven-reveals-interest-in-key-bhp-coal-mines/
23. May 24, 2023 https://www.australianresourcesandinvestment.com.au/2023/05/23/coal-demand-peaking-but-difficulties-loom/
22. Feb. 22, 2023 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/what-is-behind-bhps-decision-to-sell-australian-coal-assets/
21. Feb 09, 2023 https://www.australianresourcesandinvestment.com.au/2023/02/08/the-coking-coal-outlook-for-2023/
20. Feb. 08, 2023 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/nsw-freezes-coal-royalties-in-a-welcome-reprieve/
19. Jan 11, 2023 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/narrabri-coal-mine-life-could-extend-past-2050/
18. Nov. 11th, 2022 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/coal-production-costs-have-doubled-over-six-year-span/
17. July 6th, 2022 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/whitehaven-to-battle-narrabri-legal-challenge/
16. May 9th, 2022 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/call-for-more-protection-for-coal-industry/
15. April 4th, 2022 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/whitehaven-expands-narrabri-until-2044/
14. Feb. 14th, 2022 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/whitehaven-narrabri-mine-extension-nears/
12. Oct. 12th, 2021 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/china-forced-to-ease-coal-power-restrictions/
11. Sept. 16, 2021 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/whitehavens-vickery-extension-gets-federal-nod/
10. August 29th, 2021 Sarah McNally
Investor Relations
Whitehaven Coal Limited
Level 28, 259 George St, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia
Tel: +61 2 8222 1155 Mobile: +61 477 999 238
Email: SMcNally@whitehavencoal.com.au www.whitehavencoal.com.au
9. August 5, 2021 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/winchester-south-on-track-for-whitehaven/
8. April 15, 2021 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/whitehaven-set-back-in-the-pack-for-2021/
7. Oct. 20, 2020 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/yancoal-scales-back-spending-to-weather-unpredictable-coal-storm/
6, Oct. 15, 20https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/yancoal-scales-back-spending-to-weather-unpredictable-coal-storm/20 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/whitehaven-to-delay-key-projects-amid-coal-slump/
4. Aug. 3rd, 2020 http://marketbeat.com/URL/?URL=https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/glencore-to-cut-australian-coal-production-20200802-p55hot
3. July 14, 2020 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/whitehaven-optimises-nsw-operations-amid-global-slowdown/
2. May 21st 2020 https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/whitehaven-clears-vickery-expansion-hurdle/
1. April 2nd 2020 http://marketbeat.com/URL/?URL=https://steelguru.com/coal/glencore-and-tohoku-settle-thermal-coal-price/557765