One of the Hunter's largest coal mining companies will close one of its mines within 18 months, taking almost 300 jobs with it.
Yancoal on Tuesday morning told its Ashton coal mine workforce the mine would be closed in stages, with a final closure in January 2028, due to geological issues.
The company announced at the emergency town hall meeting at Singleton's Civic Centre there would be 60 redundancies immediately, including 41 from the production operation team and 19 technical supervisors.
The redundancies will initially be voluntary, however union officials say the mine has a reasonably young workforce and it may come to forced departures.
There will be further 69 job cuts in January 2027, the company confirmed, and the remaining 146 jobs will be made redundant when the mine closes the following year.
Mining and Energy Union (MEU) northern district president Robin Williams said the immediate 60 job cuts were "a serious blow" for workers, their families and the wider Hunter communities.
"The prospect of further job losses in 2027, ahead of the mine's planned closure in early 2028, is sobering news and will leave many local families deeply concerned about their future," Mr Williams said.
He called on Yancoal to provide workers with every reasonable opportunity to redeploy within the region, and provide them with appropriate notice, training, financial advice and transition support.
"We expect Yancoal to actively pursue redeployment opportunities across its broader Hunter Valley operations, particularly given the strong performance of its other mines in the region," Mr Williams said.
A Yancoal spokesperson said redeployment opportunities would be provided where possible, as would career transition and wellbeing assistance.
"Our immediate priority is supporting our workforce and their families through this period," the spokesperson said.
"We recognise the significant impact this decision will have on our employees, contractors and the broader community."
Located 15 kilometres north-west of Singleton along the New England Highway, the mine employs 275 people and produces about 2.5 million tonnes of coal a year.
It is understood technical and geological issues have driven its closure.
The Ashton underground mine is one of the oldest in the state but has recently faced several issues, including water seeping into the tunnels.
A Yancoal spokesperson confirmed "significant technical challenges and operational risks" were partly to blame for the mine's closure.
They also highlighted that evolving market conditions, such as the increasing input and regulatory costs, would hurt Ashton's financial performance into the future.
"Combined, these factors are undermining Ashton's viability as a sustainable ongoing operation," the spokesperson said.
There will be several phases to ending Ashton's mining operations. The first is a reduction of planning and development activities. That will be followed by the completion of development mining in early 2027, and the completion of longwall mining in early 2028.
