PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has urged the Queensland government to declare coal miner New Hope Group’s New Acland Stage 3 a prescribed project.

The call follows what the QRC says are unfounded claims by the Oakey Coal Action Alliance (OCAA) that the Department of Environment and Science was influenced by New Hope Group to award New Acland Stage 3 its Environmental Authority (EA) in June.

QRC CEO Ian Macfarlane said the Department of Environment and Science took more than six months to hand down a decision regarding New Acland Stage 3’s EA and its decision had been thoroughly and appropriately considered.

“The government needs to have faith in its own processes and not be held to ransom by minority activist groups. No resources project in Queensland history has been more scrutinised or assessed than New Acland Stage 3.

“New Hope Group, its workers and the local community have been stuck on a never-ending roundabout for more than 15 years.

“If the relevant government departments and Ministers believe New Acland Stage 3 should go ahead, then they should back themselves. If the government believes in its processes and people it needs to declare New Acland Stage 3 a prescribed project.

“Otherwise, it is giving an indefinite green light to groups like OCAA, which is backed by the taxpayer-funded Environmental Defenders Office, to challenge every decision,” said Macfarlane.

New Hope has been battling to gain approval for the Stage 3 development of its New Acland mine, in Queensland, and was last year backed by the Queensland Land Court which recommended that the mining leases and EA applications for the project be granted.

New Hope subsidiary New Acland Coal currently operates the existing New Acland mine as a 4.8-million-tonne-a-year opencut coal mine, 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 12 years beyond the current end-date of mid-2020.

Once approved the New Acland Stage 3 project will create 187 new jobs within the first six months, 487 jobs within 18 months and inject A$7-billion into the economy.