The $1.2 billion Shenhua Watermark coal mine has won federal government approval despite strong opposition from New South Wales farmers. It is located some 25 km southeast of the township of Gunnedah and 3 km to the west of the village of Breeza. The project is approximately 282 km by rail from the Port of Newcastle.
It will involve the construction and operation of an open-pit coal mining operation extracting up to 10 Mt/y of ROM coal for a 30 year period. The pit will use a mining fleet of excavators and rope shovels, supported by haul trucks, dozers, graders, blast hole drills and water carts. There will be progressive rehabilitation of all disturbed areas. A Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP) will be built to process the raw coal.
It will also involve the construction of:
- Administration building, workshop and related facilities
- Train loadout, rail spur and loop to connect to the rail line to Newcastle
- Mine access road off the Kamilaroi Highway including an overpass of the rail spur
- Water management and reticulation infrastructure
- Communications and electricity infrastructure.
There will be an estimated workforce of up to 600 full-time equivalent employees during construction and an average of 434 full-time equivalent employees during the operation of the mine
Greg Evans, Executive Director – Coal, Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) said: “Rational evaluation of mining projects provides the necessary foundation for development of Australia’s mineral resources. The Australian minerals industry has a vital stake in ensuring environmental assessment and approvals processes at all levels of government in Australia are science-based, comprehensive and effective.
“The robust legal framework for the Commonwealth’s approval processes was again demonstrated in the case of the decision by the Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt to approve Shenhua’s Watermark project, subject to 18 strict conditions and based on independent expert advice, including on agricultural water supply.
“The minerals industry is a comparatively small user of water nationally, at less than 3% of national consumption. The industry nonetheless recognises it can be a significant water user at a local or regional level.
“The potential impacts on water from coal mining are thoroughly assessed under both state and Commonwealth approval processes, including independent expert review. Mining proponents must then meet a range of strict conditions before and during mining which ensures environmental values are safeguarded.”