Coppabella Coal mine to divert creek to secure 700 jobs

Environmental groups have called for the federal government to reject plans to expand a Bowen Basin mine amid fears of greater destruction of natural habitats. But the company behind it says the plan will secure 700 jobs.

The Coppabella Coal Mine is set to undergo a major expansion.

An environmental group is calling for the outright rejection of a Bowen Basin mine expansion that they claim would result in clearing hundreds of acres of koala and greater glider habitat.

The Humbug Gully project, which is located at the existing Coppabella Mine, could soon be moving forward as the federal government considers a full environmental assessment.

Mining company Peabody has outlined its plans to divert the nearby Humbug Gully creek in a bid to extend the sites’ mining potential into the 2040s.

A Peabody spokesperson has said the project would ensure the future of Peabody’s Coppabella Mine, part of the Coppabella Moorvale JV, for more than a decade, securing 700 jobs.

This expansion to the existing Coppabella Coal mine is expected to extend the mines lifespan into the 2040s. Photo: Peabody energy

The open-cut Coppabella mine, situated approximately 30km southwest of Nebo, has been operating since 1998 and currently employs over 480 Peabody workers.

Lock the Gate Alliance, one of Australia’s largest environmental groups and anti-mining proponents, called upon Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to reject the proposal outright citing the diversion of the creek at Humbug Gully, pollution and destruction of natural habitats.

“The expansion would increase the size of the mine by more than 500 hectares,” a Lock the Gate Alliance spokesperson said.

Areas outlined in green are suitable for koala habitation, areas in purple by the waterways are preferred. Photo: Peabody energy.

The expansion comes as almost 1,400 Anglo-American workers remain at home with pay as a fire rages in the Grosvenor Underground coal mine and Stanmore shuts the Mavis mine, leaving 130 workers updating their CVs.

The project will increase the lifespan of Coppabella mine and help generate approximately $10 billion in export revenues and contribute nearly $1.8 billion in royalties.

16 Greater Gliders have been observed at night in the impact area. Photo: Justin Cally

The habitat along Humbug Gully is the preferred habitat for marsupials in the area with Peabody surveyors observing at least nine koalas and 16 greater gliders in the direct impact zone of the expansion, as well as numerous ornamental snakes, a vulnerable species endemic only to the Bowen Basin.

Many ornamental snakes live in the impact area. Source: Supplied

Lock the Gate Alliance spokesperson Dr Claire Gronow called the project unacceptable despite it being in pre-assessment stages of approval.

“Nothing can replace this habitat which, as Peabody’s own report shows, is a haven for endangered koalas and greater gliders,” Dr Gronow said.

Humbug Gully creek will be diverted to Harrybandt through a 1.3km diversion channel. Photo: Peabody Energy

The mostly sandy and dry Humbug Gully creek will be diverted into nearby Harrybrandt Creek via a 1.3 km channel.

In their assessments Peabody found it was likely the alter flow would introduce sediments into new areas, but that it was unlikely the project would result in any impact to the Great Barrier Reef.

“Any potential alterations to water quality – such as changes in dissolved inorganic nitrogen levels or sedimentation – will primarily be localised and become negligible at the Great Barrier Reef due to extensive dilution and mixing over the 424km to the outflow point,” the report found.

If approved the expansion will extend the Coppabella mines life span into the 2040s. Photo: Vanessa/Hunter

The proposed development of the Humbug Gully project is expected to commence on June 1, 2028 and will reach its conclusion by 2042, at which point Peabody intends to rehabilitate the area over a period of two to four years.

However Peabody said the waterway was likely to become permanently dry due to loss of catchment, but that loss of aquatic fauna should be minimal due to the creeks seasonally dry state.

Lock the Gate Alliance National Coordinator Ellen Roberts said, “Not only is this a disaster for koalas and greater gliders, but only last year, UNESCO warned that global heating caused by fossil fuels and worsening local water quality threatened the existence of the Great Barrier Reef.”

“Peabody’s expansion would damage the reef on both these fronts.”

A Peabody spokesperson emphasised the importance of coking coal to building renewable projects.

“Anti-coal activist groups ignore the reality that there is no viable alternative to this coal to produce the steel that builds our homes,” they said.

“No coal, no steel.”

A Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water spokesperson indicated the proposal was under consideration under national environment law and as of writing has not been rejected outright despite calls from environmentalists.

“Peabody is 100 per cent committed to meeting all the requirements of the Federal Government’s EPBC Act, including offsetting the environmental impacts of this project.”