Coal miner New Hope rebuffs objectors to win $900m expansion

Miner New Hope has cleared the final hurdle in its 15-year battle to develop another stage of the New Acland coal mine in southern Queensland.

Former and current New Acland workers, at the New Acland coal mine in August. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen / The Australian

Miner New Hope has cleared the final hurdle in its 15-year battle to develop the third stage of the New Acland coal mine in southern Queensland, with about 500 jobs promised after most employment was lost during the lengthy approval process.

The Queensland Government on Thursday granted the project an associated water licence – the final approval needed before the miner could begin its long-awaited $900m expansion of the thermal coal mine near Oakey on the Darling Downs west of Toowoomba.

It follows a protracted battle in the courts that spanned four jurisdictions and the longest-ever hearing in the state’s Land Court after the mine’s expansion faced stern opposition from a collective of conservationists and farmers.

It was also at the centre of a political storm and allegations of Palaszczuk Labor government reluctance to support the thermal coal industry for power generation.

Australian-owned New Hope made the announcement to shareholders on Thursday afternoon, saying the company now held all the primary approvals needed to enable resumption of mining operations.

The New Acland site. Picture: Josh Woning

“New Hope and the local communities around Acland and Oakey are celebrating that New Hope can now restart the New Acland mine, where there has been mining activity for over 100 years,” New Hope Corp chairman Robert Millner said.

“New Acland Stage 3 stacks up environmentally, socially and financially and is consistent with and delivers on the Queensland Government’s Resources Industry Development Plan.

“It was almost 12 months ago that the Land Court of Queensland completed an extensive hearing and recommended the grant of the mining leases and environmental authority for New Acland Stage 3.

“Since then, various Queensland Government departments have undertaken their own extensive reviews and all have granted the necessary approvals for New Acland Stage 3 to progress.”

The mine has been in care and maintenance mode since last year when it ran out of coal to mine in its existing pits.

Delays in receiving the necessary approvals led to the mine’s workforce of 490 being slashed to just 20.

After the government granted mining leases for the project in August, New Hope began recruiting staff to operate the reopened mine, which the company said would create almost 500 jobs.

“New Acland Stage 3 will secure jobs in the region and provide significant economic benefits for Queensland,” Mr Millner said.

“We are grateful for the support we have received throughout the extensive processes to date and we are pleased that the region and Queensland can now finally begin to realise those benefits.”