PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The New South Wales Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) has determined that the proposed extension of the Springvale coal mine would be beneficial to the region and has recommended that Planning Minister Rob Stokes approve the project.

Coal producer Centennial Coal was hoping to extend the life of the Springvale mine by some 13 years through the implementation of an extension plan.

The existing mine produces 4.5-million tonnes a year of run-of-mine coal from the Lithgow seam, but development consent for the Springvale mine is expected to expire by the end of September.

The extension plan, if approved, will see the mine continue for another 13 years at current production levels.

In June, the PAC delivered an initial report on the mine expansion plans, which identified four key issues that required further consideration, including the quality of water discharged into the Coxs river, surface water licensing, monitoring for impacts to swamps and swamp offsets.

Centennial responded to the raised issues in July, but by August warned that it would have no choice but to let the majority of its 300 employees at the Springvale mine go if the expansion plan was not approved in time.

Mineworkers union CFMEU has urged Stokes to act quickly to finalise the approval process for the expansion plans, with New South Wales south-west district VP Graeme Osborne saying that it was imperative the project be granted approval before the September 30 deadline.

“At the moment, two-thirds of the workforce at Springvale have been stood down and they are anxiously waiting for a final decision to be made about their futures. Every day that goes by is another day when people are not working and wondering whether they will be able pay next month’s rent or mortgage repayment.

“It’s imperative that we get the final tick of approval as soon as possible to give mineworkers and their families certainty that their jobs are safe,” Osborne said.

In its final assessment released this week, the PAC said it had carefully weighed the key areas of concern against the socioeconomic benefit of the project and was satisfied that the extension project’s benefits outweighed its potential impacts.

The PAC has urged Stokes to approve the project for development.