PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt has conditionally approved the proposed $1.5-billion Watermark coal project being developed by China’s Shenhua Group, in New South Wales.

The project would comprise the construction and operation of a ten-million-tonne-a-year openpit mine, with a mine life of some 30 years. The project was expected to employ about 600 full-time employees during construction and 434 full-time employees during operation.

In his approval of the project, Hunt attached 18 conditions to the approval, including that a biodiversity plan must be presented and approved by the Minister before the start of construction, along with a water management plan and a rehabilitation plan.

Shenhua was also ordered to undertake continuous auditing and monitoring of its environmental impacts.

"There will be no impact on the availability of water for agriculture. The conditions I have imposed limit water use to less than 0.09% of available groundwater – that's less than 1/1 000th of the resource and less than the amount of water from one agricultural bore,” Hunt was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Opposition to the proposed coal mine was quick to emerge, with the Australian Greens party condemning the project approval, and saying that the federal government was placing overseas mining interests ahead of farmers’ interests.

"This mega coal mine is set to produce 268-million tonnes of coal over 30 years, just 3 km from the nearest town of Breeza, yet the climate impacts were not even legally considered.

"The Liverpool Plains, with rich black soil, excellent water resources and ideal climatic conditions, is one of our most important farming regions and its productivity is 40% above the national average,” said Greens deputy leader Larissa Waters.

"With the coal price in structural decline, it's economically insane to be sacrificing valuable farming land for the dying coal industry, especially when we have viable renewable energy alternatives."

Environmental group Lock The Gate Alliance has also come out against the decision, saying it was a blow to the state’s farmers, the environment and regional water security.

“Farmers have once again lost out to the interests of ‘Big Coal’, destroying rich agricultural lands that yield about 40% above the national average of food per hectare and contribute approximately A$332-million to our gross domestic product annually,” said Lock the Gate Alliance national coordinator Phil Laird.

“No amount of conditions placed on this project can disguise what is a disastrous decision to approve a mine that will trash farmland and put important water resources at risk.”