KALGOORLIE (miningweekly.com) – The Federal Court has overturned governmental approval for the $16.5-billion coal and rail project, in Queensland, following a legal challenge by an environmental group.

The Mackay Conservation Group argued that, in approving the Carmichael project, Environment Minister Greg Hunt had failed to consider conservation advice.

The Department of Environment said in a statement that it had followed long-standing practice when preparing its advice to Minister Hunt, adding that the Minister had made his decision after fully considering this advice.

“Subsequently, the department has advised that there is a possibility that the advice should have been provided in a particular manner. This is a technical, administrative matter and to remove this doubt, the department has advised that the decision should be reconsidered,” the statement said.

However, it noted that reconsidering the decision does not require revisiting the entire approval process.

Without pre-empting a final decision about the project, the department expected that it would take six to eight weeks to prepare its advice and the supporting documentation, which would then be presented to the Minister for a final decision.

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) had, meanwhile, warned that legal loopholes were paving the way for anticoal activists to delay investment in Queensland.

QRC CEO Michael Roche said on Wednesday the delaying tactics being used by activists were straight out of their playbook, Stopping the Australian Coal Export Boom.

“It is preposterous that a technical administrative hitch could hold up billions of dollars in investment and thousands of desperately needed jobs,” he stated.

“Adani’s environmental approval did include conditions to manage the protection of the yakka skink and ornamental snake; however, due to an administrative error by the Commonwealth Department of Environment, the approval has been set aside.”

Roche said it was time for governments to step up and close the loopholes that enable these actions and the resulting negative impacts on the resources industry, not only in Queensland, but across Australia.

“For as long as these loopholes exist, highly motivated and well-funded activists will exploit them. Foreign investors do not have limitless patience as their projects are mired in a seemingly unending process of legal challenges.”

The Carmichael coal mine and rail mine, which would operate for about 90 years, was expected to generate over A$500-million a year in direct and indirect benefits to the Queensland economy during its construction period, and about A$3-billion a year at full capacity.

India’s Adani Mining would develop an opencut and underground mine, which is expected to produce about 60-million tonnes a year of thermal coal. The project will create up to 2 500 construction jobs and employ about 3 900 staff when operational.