Vulcan South Coal Mine reaches next stage in approvals process
A proposed mining project in the Bowen Basin has reached the next stage in the approvals process, nearly two months after a regional council overturned its objection to the proposed site.
Rockhampton
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Invitation for public comment on the potential environmental impacts of a mining project in Queensland’s Bowen Basin as it continues through the approvals process.
A referral for the Vulcan South Coal Mine, near Moranbah, was recently lodged with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
The document outlines the potential environmental impacts the construction of the coking coal project could have on things including native animal foraging and habitat and native vegetation.
According to the document the Vulcan South Coal Mine would be located to the south of Vitrinite’s initial mining project, Vulcan Coal Mine.
The proposed mine site lies to the immediate west of BMA’s Peak Downs and Saraji mines.
According to the referral document, the proposed project is a “small-scale” mining operation, which would include an open-cut mining area and a smaller highwall mining trial area.
The document says “premium hard coking coal” will be extracted from three separate open-cut pits.
“The action will operate for approximately seven years (mid-2026 -to mid-2033), including primary rehabilitation works and following a two-year construction period (2024-2026),” the document says.
“The action will extract approximately 13.5 Mt of run-of-mine (ROM) coal, consisting predominantly of hard coking coal (with an incidental thermal secondary product) at a rate of up to 1.95 Million tonnes per annum (Mtpa).”
Infrastructure at the site would include an explosive magazine, administration building and warehouses, fuel storage and workshops, CHPP, rail loop and train load out.
As part of the referral process a number of flora and fauna surveys were done in the area.
Field surveys detected 41 species of mammal, 135 species of bird, 36 species of reptile, 14 species of frog and 429 species of vascular plant within the survey area.
While the project may be at the next stage in the approvals process, it hasn’t come without its bumps in the road.
In May last year Isaac Regional Council lodged an objection notice with the Department of Environment and Science in response to the Vitrinite Pty Ltd Vulcan Mine (Jupiter Project) mining lease application on the grounds that the Vulcan South Project presented an “unacceptable risk” to the long-term social sustainability of the Isaac region.
Included in their objections was no engagement had been undertaken with council regarding the project at the time, no meaningful engagement appeared to have been undertaken or was proposed with the community, not appropriately considering the social impacts of the project including against the latest available data (2021 Census and current housing data) and the cumulative impacts of the proponent’s operations across multiple projects.
The council report said the traffic impact assessment also failed to consider the projects impact against current traffic numbers, current standards and the impacts beyond operations including rehabilitation and decommissioning.
In council’s December meeting councillors voted to overturn their objections to the Vulcan South Coal Mine after “significant” work had been done by Vitrinite to address the objections raised by council.
“They have been working closely with council officers to manage the outcomes of the independent Traffic Impact Assessment and modify their operations to accommodate the concerns raised,” the council report said.
“There has been additional work undertaken with council officers and the Proponent to prepare a draft Social Infrastructure Framework and Housing Contribution Agreement. These documents are close to finalisation and have been reviewed by our in-house legal advisor.”
Public comment on the referral will be open until February 19 and can be viewed on the EPBC Act portal website.
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