Whitehaven wins planning approval for Vickery expansion
Whitehaven still needs to win federal environmental approvals for the $700m development.
Whitehaven Coal shares closed higher on Wednesday after the NSW Independent Planning Commission ticked off on its plans to build its 10 million tonne a year Vickery coal mine in NSW.
Whitehaven shares closed up 3.5c at $1.405 after the IPC said its proposal for a larger mine at Vickery could go ahead.
Whitehaven still needs to win federal environmental approvals for the $700m development, and minor works approvals from the NSW government, but managing director Paul Flynn welcomed the IPC decision, saying it would help cement the company’s future plans.
Whitehaven won approval for a 4.5 million tonne operation at Vickery some years ago, but its attempts to win approval for the larger mine footprint were stalled in the controversies around the operations of the IPC.
The coal miner is still optimising its plans for the development of the mine, and has said falling prices and difficult conditions in global coal markets meant its board would not make a decision on the construction of Vickery until at least next year.
“Whitehaven continues to be cautious in allocating capital to expansion, noting the evolving impacts of COVID-19 on coal markets and pricing,” the company said.
“While there are still considerable risks and uncertainties for the global economic outlook given the continued spread of the virus, the fundamentals of our business model continue to remain robust.”
But despite Whitehaven’s near-term caution, 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 planned expansion.
Vickery would primarily produce metallurgical coal for the steelmaking industry, the company said, and would employ about 450 workers when it came into operation.