Name of the Project
New Acland Stage 3 coal mine expansion project.

Location
Queensland, Australia.

Project Owner/s
New Acland Coal (NAC), a subsidiary of the New Hope Group.

Project Description
NAC operates the existing New Acland coal mine as a 4.8-million-tonne-a-year opencut coal mine on mining lease (ML) 50170 and ML 50216. The mine has reserves that will allow for current operations to continue until about 2017.

The project will expand the mine’s yearly output from 4.8-million tonnes to 7.5-million tonnes and will extend the operation’s life beyond the current end-date of 2017/18.

The revised coal project proposes to develop Stage 3 of the New Acland mine, which involves the extension of the mine’s operating life to about 2029, including the progressive development of two new resource areas within the area covered by Mining Development Licence 244, also covered by ML application 50232.

The two resource areas will be developed sequentially and, combined with the current operations, will supply up to 7.5-million tonnes a year of saleable product coal for the export and domestic markets until about 2029.

Key features of the project include:

• developing parts of the Manning Vale and Willeroo resource areas;
• upgrading the existing coal handling and preparation plant and supporting infrastructure;
• constructing a new coal load-out facility on the mining lease and an estimated 8-km-long rail spur, as a result of the relocation of the existing Jondaryan coal load-out facility;
• roadworks and constructing water management structures; and
• relocating and potentially upgrading the power supply to the revised project.

The Acland town area, including Tom Doherty Park, the War Memorial and the Acland No 2 colliery and utility services, will be maintained over the life of the revised project. The closest point of potential mining operations will be at least 10 km away from Oakey, compared with the 7 km previously proposed.

The land disturbed for mining activities will be reduced by more than half, compared with that of the original Stage 3 proposal.

Veneering to coat all transported coal leaving the mine by train­ – to reduce the potential for coal dust coming from trains – will continue.

Lagoon Creek will not be diverted as previously proposed. Operations will continue to be self-sufficient for water, with water continuing to be bought from Toowoomba’s Wetalla wastewater reclamation facility. NAC buys only about 20% of the Wetalla water.

Production levels from the New Acland mine will be reduced by at least 25%, to 7.5-million tonnes a year, from the originally proposed ten-million tonnes a year.

Potential Job Creation
Once approved, the New Acland Stage 3 project will create 187 new jobs within the first six months and 487 jobs within 18 months.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
A$900-million.

Planned Start/End Date
First mining is on track for late 2023, and first coal shipment is still expected in quarter one of 2024.

Latest Developments
NAC is at the centre of legal proceedings initiated by the Queensland Conservation Council.

The complaint, served on November 13, alleges unlawful conduct pertaining to historical mining of the West Pit, the company said.

The Queensland Conservation Council is seeking penalty orders and other pecuniary payment orders against NAC in the Magistrates Court of Queensland.

In a statement, New Hope said it would “vigorously” defend the proceedings.

The court action comes on the heels of the recent establishment of the Queensland Conservation Council’s enforcement arm, designed to function as a nongovernmental environmental protection agency. The enforcement arm operates independently of the Queensland Conservation Council.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
New Acland Coal, tel +61 7 3418 0500, fax +61 7 3418 0355 or email aclandinfo@newhopegroup.com.au.