PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Unlisted coal developer Waratah Coal on Wednesday said that the federal government had renewed its support for the proposed A$8-billion China First coal project, with Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese renewing the project’s Major Project Facilitation (MPF) status.

Waratah Coal, which is owned by mining magnate Clive Palmer, plans to build a thermal coal mine in the Galilee basin, with the capacity to produce up to 40-million tons a year, over a life-of-mine of 25 years.

The mine would be linked to a new coal terminal at Abbot Point by a 453 km standard gauge, heavy-haul railway line.

Palmer said on Wednesday that establishing the mine and associated infrastructure would create 6 000 jobs during construction and 1 500 during operation.

In a letter to Waratah’s management, Albanese said he had renewed the prject's MPF status to December 31, 2016, by which time significant progress towards developing the project was expected.

“I have written to the Prime Minister, the Hon. Julia Gillard, several of my ministerial colleagues and the Hon. Campbell Newman, Premier of Queensland, informing them of my decision to grant MPF status to your project and seeking their active cooperation in assisting the project,” Albanese said in the letter.

Waratah MD Nui Harris said the China First development had already been declared a significant project by the Queensland government and noted that the renewal of its MPF status was a major step forward for the project.

“MPF status provides a service to support a timely and efficient approvals process for the proposed development,” he said.

“We are delighted with this decision by Minister Albanese and it is a major milestone for one of the most significant projects in the history of the state of Queensland. The China First development will open up a massive new energy resource in the Galilee basin and benefit both the Queensland and national economy.”

Waratah Coal is awaiting approval of an environmental-impact statement (EIS) and a supplementary EIS for the project from the Queensland Coordinator General and the federal Environment Minister.