Name of the Project
Carmichael coal mine project.
Location
About 160 km north-west of Clermont, in Queensland, Australia.
Project Owner/s
Bravus Mining & Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of India’s Adani Group.
Project Description
The thermal coal mine and rail project will result in coal being transported from the Galilee basin to countries in Asia, including India, Vietnam and China.
Although the project has been approved to produce up to 60-million tonnes of coal a year, the mine will initially produce ten-million tonnes a year and ramp up to 27.5-million tonnes of coal a year in the first stage.
The reduced plan requires only a 200 km rail spur connecting to Aurizon Holdings’ rail line, rather than a new 388 km competing line, and no port expansion. Rail works for the project will include more than 460 culverts, 17 bridges over waterways, two road-over-rail bridges, 68 railway crossings and local road upgrades.
Potential Job Creation
The project will deliver more than 1 500 direct jobs for the mine and rail projects during the initial ramp-up and construction phase, and will support thousands of indirect jobs, all of which will benefit regional Queensland communities.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.
Capital Expenditure
The project is expected to cost A$16.5-billion.
Planned Start/End Date
The project is on track to produce first coal in 2021.
Latest Developments
The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has called for tougher penalties for protestors who break the law and disrupt the lawful activities of mining companies.
The call comes as activist activities outside of the Carmichael coal mine have ramped up.
Project developer Bravus Mining & Resources has said that it is only a matter of time before someone is "seriously injured or killed" by the actions of the "professional activists".
“We’re an industry that puts the health and safety of our workforce first,” Bravus parent company Adani Australia CEO and country head Lucas Dow has said.
The Queensland government seems “reluctant to do everything it can to protect mining industry workers from the danger and atmosphere of harassment and intimidation created by activists”, he adds.
He notes that Queensland needs to provide certainty for the tens of thousands of people comprising the coal mining industry certainty to work without fear of activist intimidation, harassment or sabotage.
“Tough laws are useless if they are not applied, and it’s time the government got serious about enforcing real consequences for activists who choose to deliberately break the law and put Queenslanders’ lives at risk,” Dow has stated.
QRC CEO Ian Macfarlane echoed the comments, saying people had the right to go to work without facing constant harassment or having their livelihood or personal safety threatened by people who have a political agenda.
“Every one of our employees and visitors to site are expected to follow these strict rules, and yet we have protesters coming onto mine sites who don’t think the law applies to them.
“The QRC is urging legal authorities to use the full force of the law to impose penalties on protesters who break the law, including sending them to jail, as is being done in New South Wales, because their dangerous behaviour is placing the lives of law-abiding citizens at risk.”
Coal exports from the Carmichael project are set to start soon.
Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Downer Mining (construction and operation of the mine); BMD (civil works – rail network) Austrak (concrete sleepers); Arrium Mining and Materials (railway tracks); and GA Services (refurbishment of camp accommodation).
Contact Details for Project Information
Adani Mining, tel + 61 7 3223 4800, fax + 61 7 3223 4850 or email Reception.Australia@adani.in.