Whitehaven Vickery coal mine expansion clears major planning hurdle
The expansion will create 500 construction jobs and 450 ongoing operations roles when it is complete.
Whitehaven Coal has cleared a major hurdle for one of its key growth projects, with the NSW planning department ticking off on Whitehaven’s plans for a $700m expansion of its Vickery coal mine.
The “whole of government” review by the NSW planning department ruled the Vickery expansion was “approvable”, triggering a 12-week process for the state’s independent Planning Commission to make a call on the final fate of the project, which Whitehaven says will deliver another 450 jobs when the mine expansion is fully operational.
Vickery is currently producing about 4.5 million tonnes of coal a year and the expansion, if approved, would take it to 10 million tonnes of annual production of semisoft soft coking coal and high grade thermal coal.
While Whitehaven is yet to make a final investment decision on the project - a decision complicated in the near term by tumbling coal prices - the planning tick-off opens the door for the company to push ahead with its search for a development partner prepared to take a 30 per cent stake in the project and ease the $700m capital cost of the expansion.
Whitehaven Coal managing director Paul Flynn said he welcomed the recommendation of the planning department and looked forward to the IPC’s next round of public hearings and consultation.
“We know there is strong support for Vickery from the comprehensive community consultation process that has already been undertaken – 60 per cent of public submissions to the Department of Planning and 75 per cent to the IPC called for the project to be approved,” he said.
“Vickery has the potential to be one of the most significant sources of employment and investment in North West NSW in the coming years and major infrastructure projects have a key role to play in the post-COVID-19 economic recovery, including for regional Australia.”
Whitehaven has said the expansion will create 500 construction jobs and 450 ongoing operations roles when it is complete.
The company is expected to make a final investment decision on the project next year, flagging the start of a two-year construction period in the second half of 2021, with output to ramp up over three to four years.
Whitehaven shares closed up 1c on Wednesday, ahead of the release of the planning department report, to $1.765.