GVK coal mine granted conditional clearance

The Land Court of Queensland, Australia, has granted conditional clearance to GVK Group’s AU$ 10 billion Alpha Coal Mine project.

Project benefits

“GVK Hancock welcomes the recommendations from the Land Court that the Environmental Authority [clearance] and Mining Lease for our Alpha coal project be granted subject to conditions. We fully understand the significant benefits our projects will bring to the region and will continue to work with the environmental regulators in relation to these recommendations,” GVK said in a statement.

According to GVK, during the case a number of objections were made in relation to climate change, economics, surface water, groundwater, land use, public interest and greenhouse gas emissions.

Alpha Coal projects

In 2011, GVK acquired a 79% stake in the Alpha Coal and Alpha West projects and 100% stake in the Kevin’s Corner project in Queensland from Hancock Prospecting.

GVK’s Alpha Coal Mine is located in the Galilee Basin. First coal is due to be extracted by 2016. When fully commissioned, the mine will produce approximately 32 million tpa of thermal coal for the Asian export market.

Government approval

In August 2012, the Australian government granted approval to the Alpha Coal Mine project comprising operation of the coal mine and a railway.

“With this, everything is clear for the project to take off. The Queensland government will have to issue us the mining lease for Alpha Coal Mine project,” a GVK official reportedly told the press.

Employment opportunities

The coal mine projects will provide direct employment to approximately 7500 people across the region, state and nation during construction, and almost 4000 once operational, contributing over AU$ 40 billion in taxes and royalties over the life of the coal mines.

Edited from various sources by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/mining/08042014/gvk_coal_mine_gets_green_light_703/