The Australian Religious Response to Climate Change has vowed not to give up the fight to stop the proposed Adani coal mine in the northern Australian state of Queensland from going ahead after the State Government approved a final permit on ground water management on Thursday.
First acquired by Adani in 2010, the project is slated to produce eight to 10 million tonnes of thermal coal a year and cost up to $US1.5 billion, but has been mired in court battles and opposition from green groups.
“In two years’ time people should be expecting we have exported our first piece of coal,” Adani Mining Chief Executive Lucas Dow told reporters, adding that construction work would begin within weeks.
The go-ahead comes after Queensland’s Department of Environment and Science said it had approved Adani’s Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem Management Plan following a rigorous assessment “based on the best available science”.
The approval potentially paves the way for half a dozen new thermal coal mines to come on line in Australia by opening up Queensland’s remote Galilee basin with rail infrastructure to the coast 320 kilometres away at Abbot Point.
Holders of other coal deposits in the basin include some of Australia’s wealthiest iron ore magnates such as Gina Rinehart, who has a joint venture with India’s GVK Group, and controversial one-term politician Clive Palmer.
In an email update, the ARRCC said the “movement to stop this mine and all of the other proposed coal and gas exploitation in the Galilee Basin is more determined than ever”.
It pointed out that despite the approval, there are still a number of obstacles which need to be overcome before major works can begin including two more Federal Government approvals.
Other conservation groups also vowed to continue fighting the development.
The Australian Marine Conservation Society said the approval was “bad news” for the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.
“Climate change is the greatest threat to our reef’s future and we cannot risk opening up the Galilee basin for other major coal projects which would heat our oceans and lead to more stress on our beautiful corals,” it said.
– with MELANIE BURTON/SONALI PAUL, Reuters
