PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Coal miner New Hope Group has welcomed a judgment by the Supreme Court of Queensland for a Judicial Review of a Land Court decision over the New Acland coal mine Stage 3 expansion.
The Queensland Land Court in May of last year decided not to support the grant of a mining lease and environmental authority for the Stage 3 expansion, raising concerns about the impact of the proposed expansion on groundwater in the region, recommending that the mining lease and environmental authority not be granted.
The Land Court decision led the Department of Environment and Science to refuse New Hope’s application for an amended environmental authority.
However, the Queensland Supreme Court has now found that grounds for a review of the Land Court decision had been established in the areas of groundwater, noise and intergenerational equity, with the Supreme Court finding that it would be appropriate to set aside the Land Court decision, and to refer the matter back to the Land Court for further consideration.
New Hope told shareholders that the company remained committed to securing approval for the Stage 3 expansion, and in doing so would be able to provide ongoing employment for the 700 jobs reliant on the project.
New Hope subsidiary New Acland Coal currently operates the existing New Acland mine as a 4.8-million-tonne-a-year opencut coal mine on mining lease (ML) 50170 and ML 50216; however, the mine’s reserves are depleted. The Stage 3 expansion project will increase the mine’s yearly output to 7.5-million tonnes and will extend the operation’s life by some 12 years beyond the current end-date of mid-2020.
The expanded operation will result in ongoing employment for about 300 employees and 500 contractors. It will also create 2 300 indirect jobs.