West Wallsend Colliery was developed in 1969 by Coal and Allied Industries Ltd as a bord and pillar operation working within the Borehole and Young Wallsend seams. A longwall unit was installed in the Borehole Seam in 1989. The majority ownership of West Wallsend Colliery has changed several times since its establishment:

• BHP – 1988 to 1989; Pacific Copper – 1989 to 1990 (as part of the purchase of Macquarie Collieries);
• FAI – 1990 to 1999;
• GCA – 1999 to 2002.
• Xstrata – 2002 to Present

The current mining area includes the areas previously described as the Lachlan and Wakefield project areas where the Borehole Seam has combined with a number of upper seams to form the West Borehole Seam with a combined thickness of more than 6m. New longwall mining equipment was installed in 1997 to operate in the thicker seam section.