Rehabilitation work underway as New Acland coal pit runs empty

About 100 workers have been laid off over the past year as the Stage 2 pit at the New Acland mine was picked clean. Work will grind to a halt on Friday while the New Hope Group waits for Stage 3 to be approved.

Work has stopped at the New Acland coal mine as New Hope Group waits for it Stage Three expansion to be approved. Photography: Russell Shakespeare

After 19 years the excavators at the New Acland mine have fallen silent as the last lumps of coal have been pulled from the Stage 2 pit.

About 100 staff were laid off in the past year and as of Friday only 20 caretakers will remain at the site 10km north of Oakey.

New Hope Group CEO Reinhold Schmidt said the shutdown was the result of about a decade delays in approvals for Stage Three.

“I would like to thank the entire team at New Acland for their unwavering commitment and dedication,” he said.

“The protracted approvals process and the ongoing uncertainty regarding Stage 3 has seen more than 280 valuable and highly skilled employees made redundant in the past three years.

“I would also like to thank the wider Darling Downs community for its steadfast support, particularly local community leaders, sporting groups and landholders who have been vocal and proud advocates of Stage 3 and the benefits it will bring to the region.”

About 20 staff will stay on to maintain the mine’s equipment and vehicles and continue to rehabilitate the pit.

This involves backfilling the pit with soil and planting native trees and grasses.

Mr Schmidt said he was proud of departing staff’s professionalism and said they would be a welcome addition to anyone looking to hire experienced miners, engineers and heavy plant operators.

“Over the past two years they have undergone additional training, been awarded nationally accredited skills certification, received resume and interview coaching and had their pre-employment medical examinations updated, all in a bid to make each person more employable,” he said.

The Stage 3 proposal has been one of the most controversial mine expansions in Australian history after local farmers fought it in the Land Court during a mammoth 100 days trial and won.

The Stage 3 proposal returned to the Land Court earlier this month where the member will assess its effect on dust and noise pollution.

If the court approves Stage 3 then a separate application will assess the expansion’s impact on groundwater.

Oakey Coal Action Alliance president Aileen Harrison has been a vocal opponent of the Stage 3 expansion and has been instrumental in blocking it in both the Land Court and later appeals.

She said she hoped the court would make its decision by February next year.

“This is the sixth time we have been in court and none of them have given us an answer within three month,” Ms Harrison said.

If the Land Court does approve Stage 3 then New Hope will be quick to resume digging.

“We are committed to securing the remaining approvals required for Stage 3, which would enable a restart of operations and employment opportunities for hundreds of local workers, as well as economic opportunities for the region more broadly,” Mr Schmidt said.