Glencore hits back at Miles over Great Artesian Basin proposal

Glencore says it is “disappointed” with Steven Miles’s comments that the miner’s Great Artesian Basin carbon storage project was unlikely to get state approval.

Premier Steven Miles and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Beef Week in Rockhampton. Picture: Annette Dew

Glencore has accused Steven Miles of “political opportunism” and breaching due process after the Queensland premier said his environment department was unlikely to approve the miner’s carbon capture and storage project in the Great Artesian Basin.

The carbon capture and storage proposal is going through an approval process with the Queensland environment department and a decision is expected to be made on May 27.

But the Queensland premier pre-empted the decision, saying it was “unlikely to pass that environmental test”.

In a statement, Glencore, , whose subsidiary Carbon Transport and Storage Corporation intends to store carbon dioxide captured at the Millmerran coal fired power station, west of Brisbane, and store it in the Great Artesian Basin, said it was disappointed in Mr Miles’s comments and that he had breached due process.

“Glencore is disappointed that Premier Miles is providing negative running commentary while the CTSCo Project is still under independent review,” a Glencore spokesman said.

“As the Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King said yesterday, governments should avoid bias when decisions such as these are being made because it puts at risk future investments and the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of workers in resources in Queensland moving forward.

“If the Premier continues to intervene and ignores due process, he leaves the resources industry with no credible abatement solution, which means lost Queensland jobs and a hit to regional communities.

“Our Project should be judged on the science, not misinformation or political opportunism.”

Federal and state politicians, including Mr Miles, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Agriculture Minister Murray Watt have faced a barrage of complaints from farmers concerned about the Glencore proposal during their visit to the Beef Week industry event in Rockhampton this week.

Glencore said it was concerned the political pressure had influenced Mr Miles’s choice to criticise the project.

“Our fear is that Glencore has been set up by this government to fail even though we are following the CCS approvals process set up by the Queensland Government,” the Glencore spokesman said.

“We have followed a rigorous approvals process which has seen the environmental impact statement (EIS) for CTSCo reviewed by independent experts from the Australian Government, Queensland Government and CSIRO.

“Premier Miles himself approved the capture part of the CTSCo Project in 2023 but he has refused to meet with us, despite having meetings with organisations that oppose the project.”

Glencore said that without carbon capture and storage, industrial sectors would “struggle to reduce emissions and states will struggle to meet their stated emission reduction targets without imposing high costs on households”.

Last week, The Australian revealed Glencore would consider a rejection of the proposal a “death knell for any future onshore CCS projects in Australia”.

On Wednesday, Mr Miles said he shared the concerns of farmers who had raised the issue with him at Beef Week.

“We do expect that decision to come very soon and I’ve continued to talk with and work with those groups who are concerned about it, even as recently as yesterday and last night,” Mr Miles said.

“I share their concerns, I’ve said so publicly.

“It doesn’t sound like a good idea to me, but we have a rigorous process of environmental impact assessments here in Queensland and any project can go through that process.

“Once we see the outcome of that process, then I’ll have more to say about longer term policy options.”

Mr Miles, a former environment minister, said he expected the project would not pass the environmental impact statement process.

“Knowing Queensland’s environmental laws as well as I do, I think it’s unlikely to pass that environmental test, but it’s an important and independent process and so I’ll let it run its course,” he said.

“Once it has run its course then I’ll have more to say about longer term policy options.”

The Albanese government is also grappling with its approach to carbon capture and storage, which is a tenet of its plan to reach net zero carbon emissions.

On Wednesday, the government released funding to map appropriate sites for carbon capture and storage projects.

Last week, The Australian revealed Glencore, whose subsidiary Carbon Transport and Storage Corporation intends to store carbon dioxide captured at the Millmerran coal fired power station, west of Brisbane, and store it in the Great Artesian Basin, would consider a rejection of the proposal as the “death knell for any future onshore CCS projects in Australia”.

The proposal is facing a legal challenge in the Federal Court by lobby group AgForce, which is trying to force the government to reconsider a 2022 Morrison government decision not to assess the project under federal environmental legislation.

Farmers fear dumping carbon dioxide within the basin, which covers 22 per cent of the continent and is an essential water source for towns, farmers and industries, will cause irreparable harm.

Glencore says the project is supported by compre­hensive scientific data and reviews.

Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has also expressed his concerns about the CTSCo project this week after facing a barrage of questions from farmers at Beef Week.

“It’s probably been the biggest issue that’s been raised with me while I’ve been here at Beef over the last three days,” Senator Watt told ABC News.

“It’s happened again in about three or four meetings that I’ve had here today with different people in the sector and there is, from what I can see, universal opposition from individual farmers right through to farm peak bodies to this project going ahead.

“The concern that farmers have got is that the Great Artesian Basin plays an incredibly important role as a water source for agriculture, not just in Queensland but in so many states across Australia.

“The concern is that allowing this project to go ahead would potentially contaminate that water source and put some of our prime agricultural land at risk.”