Global miner and commodity trader Glencore will close its Tahmoor coking coal mine in NSW with the loss of 350 jobs because of ongoing coal price weakness.
The Swiss company plans to reduce the workforce over the next 18 months and to close the mine by early 2019.
"The decision has been made as a result of continued low prices in global coal markets, which has meant the economic return from reserves still available at Tahmoor are not sufficient to warrant the investment required to mine them," the company said in a statement on Thursday.
Glencore, which produces and markets more than 90 commodities throughout the world, said it expected all mining at Tahmoor to end by early 2019, almost 40 years after the mine opened in 1979.
"The workforce of 350 will be gradually reduced over the next 18 months as development work at the mine is completed," the company said.
It will look at redeploying workers at its other operations.
Glencore said it was still examining options but market conditions didn't support the proposed Tahmoor South and Tahmoor North projects.
In 2015, the Tahmoor underground metallurgical coal mine produced 2.1 million tonnes of coking coal predominantly for export to be used in steel production.
Global metallurgical coal prices have fallen from more than $US300 a tonne in 2011 to around $US94 as steel prices have weakened.
Glencore has 20 operational coal mines across NSW and Queensland, employing around 8,200 people.
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