PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Some 14 500 workers have registered with Indian major Adani for work on the $16.5-billion Carmichael coal project, the head of its Australian unit said on Wednesday, lobbying the Queensland government get behind the project.

“When you get 14 500 people wanting to work for you and most of these people come from Queensland, you would hope the Queensland government would take notice,’’ Adani Australia Mining CEO Lucas Dow said.

“A large number of those people are blue-collar workers, but the professionals and white collar workers like engineers, office managers and geologists are lining up as well.

“Hundreds of these workers are from towns where the economy is not doing as well as Brisbane.”

Dow noted that over the past nine months, Adani has invested $70-million worth of work on the Carmichael project alone, and more than $3.3-billion in Australia since 2010.

“We’re doing everything we can to get these people into jobs, but we need the Queensland government to get on board and help us deliver jobs that are ready for regional Queensland communities tomorrow if we’re given the green light to proceed,” Dow said.

In December, the Queensland state government refused to sign off on the company’s plans before further studies into the project’s environmental impact assessment are complete.

Queensland Resources Council (QRC) CEO Ian Macfarlane said that it was not surprising that some 14 500 people have expressed interest in working on the coal mine project.

“The resources sector is a strong and steady employer of Queenslanders, despite the fact that Queensland's unemployment rate is among the highest in Australia.  

“Over the past 12 months, the resources industry has added more than 10 000 extra jobs. Its continued strength is essential to our state,” Macfarlane said.

“Resources jobs underpin the economy of south-east Queensland, but importantly, they also drive the economies of central and north Queensland too. 

“The resources sector is primed to keep investing and keep employing, especially given the global demand for our commodities including thermal coal, met coal, bauxite and zinc.”

Adani is planning to develop a smaller opencut mine comparable to several other Queensland coal mines, and would ramp up production to the planned 27.5-million tonnes a year over time.