BHP Billiton announces new 10Mt/y NSW coal mine
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mining giant BHP Billiton has unveiled plans to develop a significant underground coal mine at Caroona, in New South Wales.
In documents lodged with the federal Department of Environment, BHP stated that the underground operation would deliver about 260-million tonnes of run-of-mine coal, over a mine life of 30 years, with the project producing about ten-million tonnes a year of saleable thermal coal.
If full production is reached, Caroona could be the world’s largest underground coal operation.
At its peak, the mine was expected to employ about 400 people, with 600 positions being filled at peak construction. Construction was expected to take three years to complete.
The company has ruled out an opencut operation at Caroona, saying that the underground operation would be more environment friendly and vowing that it would not interfere with agricultural activities in the area.
BHP was formally granted an exploration licence for the Caroona area in April 2006, with the project previously being granted major project status. This was, however, subsequently repealed as part of the New South Wales state government’s planning reforms.
The company has launched an environmental approvals process for Caroona.
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