A new coal mine says it would welcome any of the 300 Hunter miners who were recently told they would be without a job when Ashton mine closes in 18 months.
Malabar Resources executive chairman Wayne Seabrook made the declaration at the official opening of company's Maxwell mine, located 10 kilometres south of Muswellbrook, on Thursday.
Last week, Yancoal told its Ashton coal mine workforce the underground mine would be closed in stages, with a final closure in January 2028, due to geological issues.
There will be 60 redundancies immediately, including 41 from the production operation team and 19 technical supervisors. There will be a further 69 job cuts in January 2027, and the remaining 146 jobs will be made redundant when the mine closes the following year.
The Maxwell underground mine - which began production in April - will support 430 jobs, and Mr Seabrook said Malabar would welcome any of the workers from Ashton who were seeking to remain in the underground coal industry.
"They have the expertise we are always keen to attract at Maxwell," Mr Seabrook said.
"I know when we first started the mine in the early 2020s we were the newbies in the business and people wanted to see how we went before joining our workforce.
"Our team lives locally, works locally and contributes locally. These are people from Muswellbrook, Denman, Aberdeen, Scone, Singleton and the surrounding towns who have helped build a project that will be part of the Upper Hunter for decades to come.
"Today with the longwall fully operational, I think everyone can see what a success we have made at this new mine and one we are committed to continue with and expand with our plans for Maxwell North right next door to this mine."
Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said the 430 jobs were not just a number on a page, it was "mortgages paid, apprentices trained, kids in local schools and money going through local businesses".
"Coal mining has played a central role in our state's economic development for more than a century, and that contribution is not behind us, it is still being made today," Ms Catley said.
When asked about training opportunities for the workforce into the future, Mr Seabrook said they employed four apprentices a year each: two electrical and two mechanical apprenticeships were offered.
"We encourage our workers to learn new skills during their time with us," he said.
Mr Seabrook noted in his speech that mining, agriculture and renewables are not competing forces; they are complementary to each other.
He said they not only coexist, they support each other and they represent the Upper Hunter's future.
"There is much talk of a diversified future in the Hunter and I think that work captures exactly what we are already doing at Malabar," he said.
He listed the company's large-scale renewable energy projects including the approved Maxwell Solar Farm, the proposed 350MW Edderton Solar Farm and Battery (BESS), the Mayfield mega-scale BESS in partnership with Akaysha, and the rehabilitation of previously mined land for agriculture and renewable energy uses.
"We have planted 350,000 trees on this site since we purchased the land from Anglo American in 2018 after the closure of the Drayton open-cut," he said.
