PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The New South Wales Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) has approved ASX-listed Yancoal’s development of the Stage 2 expansion of its Moolarben mine.

The current Moolarben mine has been approved to extract up to 12-million tonnes a year run-of-mine (RoM) coal from three opencut and one underground mine.

The permitted extraction currently comprised eight-million tonnes from the opencut operations, while a further four-million tonnes a year could be sourced from the yet-to-be commissioned underground mine.

The current operation can also process some ten-million tonnes of RoM coal a year.

The Stage 2 development was expected to expand the mining operation further east, and would develop two additional underground mines and one opencut operation. An additional 16-million tonnes of RoM coal a year would be extracted, for a period of 24 years.

Yancoal pointed out on Tuesday that the project would also create up to 120 full time jobs.

Yancoal Australia CEO Reinhold Schmidt said that the approval would provide greater certainty not only for the company, but also the community surrounding the Moolarben mine and the contractors employed at the operation.

“The Stage 2 project will provide new opportunities for investment and employment within the region and demonstrates Yancoal Australia’s long-term commitments to the Australian resources sector during a period of significant economic challenge.”

In its assessment, the PAC said that the project would have significant economic benefit, both in terms of regional employment and royalties to the state of New South Wales.

However, the PAC pointed out that the Stage 2 development would have some adverse impacts on the local community living in the vicinity of the mine site, and had imposed conditions on Yancoal to limit noise and air quality impacts, and provided acquisition and mitigation rights in accordance with government policy.