Approval of Moolarben’s Stage Two project will extend the life of Yancoal Australia’s operations in the Mid-Western Region and potentially create up to 120 new full-time jobs, Yancoal Australia CEO Reinhold Schmidt said this week.
The New South Wales Planning and Assessment Commission (NSWPAC) has approved the application, allowing Moolarben to expand its mining operation to the east of the existing mining, with two new underground mines and a new open cut mining pit.
Moolarben’s Stage Two could produce up to 16 million tonnes a year of Run of Mine (ROM) coal for a period of 24 years.
NSWPAC has also approved modifications to Moolarben Stage One, to allow use of the existing infrastructure to process and load coal from Stage Two. This will extend the Stage One project life from 2028 to 2037.
Stage One currently has approval to extract up to 12 million tonnes a year of ROM coal from three open cut pits and one underground mine.
Approval of Stage Two will potentially allow Moolarben to more than double its annual output.
“Today’s approval for the Moolarben Stage Two Project provides greater certainty for our people, the community and the many local contractors and service providers who continue to support our operations,” Mr Schmidt said in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange.
“The Stage Two project will provide new opportunities for investment and employment within the region and demonstrates Yancoal Australia’s long-term commitment to the Australian resources sector during a period of significant economic challenge.
IN APPROVING THE STAGE TWO PROJECT, NSWPAC NOTED THAT THE “PROJECT HAS SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC BENEFITS, BOTH IN TERMS OF REGIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND ROYALTIES TO THE STATE OF NSW”.
“As we continue to expand our operations, we remain focused on operating to the highest safety and environmental standards.”
Moolarben Coal employs more than 300 full-time employees and produced 6.4 million tonnes of saleable coal in 2014, up 1 per cent on the previous year.
Mid-Western Regional Council Mayor Des Kennedy said construction of Stage Two will stimulate additional regional production and consumption of $260 million, providing a total benefit to the region of $584 million and directly employing up to 220 construction workers.
In approving the Stage Two project, NSWPAC noted that the “project has significant economic benefits, both in terms of regional employment and royalties to the State of NSW”.
“Nonetheless, the proposal will have some adverse impact on the local community living in the mine site,” the approval stated.
“Conditions limiting noise and air quality impacts and providing acquisition and mitigation rights in accordance with the Government’s new Voluntary Land Acquisition and Mitigation Policy for State Significant Mining, Petroleum and Extractive Industries will go some way to mitigating these.”
The noise mitigation conditions will apply to both stages of the mine, with the Commission noting that if would be difficult, if not impossible to determine which of the two sites the noise is coming from.
However, the Commission acknowledged that since the new mitigation policy could be seen to provide less protection to surrounding residents than the previous Stage One conditions, some landholders could lose their former acquisition and mitigation options.
The Commission has recommended transitional provisions that would allow landowners who had applied in writing for acquisition or mitigation before the Stage Two application was approved to be dealt with under the previous conditions.
Under the conditions of the approval, Moolarben will be required to consult with the Department of Education and if requested, implement measures to mitigate dust and noise or meet reasonable costs of relocating the school.
The condition also include measures to protect The Drip, including a requirement that the mine expansion has a “nil impact” on water supply to this natural feature.
Source: Robyn Murray, Mudgee Guardian, 4 Feb 2015
Link: http://www.mudgeeguardian.com.au/story/2858481/moolarben-expansion-approved-stage-two-to-create-up-to-120-new-jobs/?cs=1233
