Coal Miner Struggles to Pay Queensland’s Larger Mining Royalties, Proposed Deferral Denied

The Queensland Revenue Office has turned down a request from Bowen Coking Coal to defer payment of royalties as part of a debt restructure.

Piles of coal are seen at a coal yard beside the Yangtze River in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on July 22, 2025. AFP via Getty Images

Bowen Coking Coal says the Queensland Revenue Office (QRO) has turned down a proposal to defer payments for the state’s heightened royalty scheme introduced under Labor in 2022.

Ten days ago, the company revealed that the Indonesian contracting company which formerly worked its Burton mine in Queensland, BUMA, had demanded payment of over $15 million, and said that combined with the state’s larger mining tax obligations were putting pressure on Bowen.