Pike River Coal has reached coal after two years of tunnelling on the West Coast.
The mine is 2.3km beneath the Paparoa Range, northeast of Greymouth.
The company says everything is now in place to start mining hard coking coal there, which is used in steel making.
It is scheduled to produce its first 100,000 tonnes of coal by March 2009 and is then scheduled to produce an average of 1 million tonnes a year for at least 18 years.
All the coal will be exported. The company expects the mine to raise about $490 million a year in revenue.
Pike River says a recent significant reduction in the New Zealand dollar against the United States dollar, which has a favourable impact on export prices, will help to offset any decline in coal prices.
The Pike River mine is scheduled to produce its first 100,000 tonnes of coal by March and is then expected to produce an average of 1 million tonnes a year for at least 18 years.
Greymouth Mayor Tony Kokshoorn says the mine will bring 150 jobs to the district - a welcome boost for the local economy after being in the doldrums for 30 years.
