NSW Coal Mines In The Pipeline Are 'Bigger Than Adani', Lock The Gate Says

Fairfax - Peter Hannam

The amount of new coal mining output being assessed by the Berejiklian government eclipses the Adani megamine proposed for Queensland and dwarfs its carbon emissions, according to analysis by Lock the Gate.
A review of 10 major new mines or extension projects with key decision points during the coming year shows the potential for 75 million tonnes of annual coal production in NSW, more than the 60 million tonnes Adani hopes its Carmichael mine in central Queensland will produce each year.

'Adani is destroying everything'
Pollution and environmental destruction by Adani's operations are threatening the livelihoods of nearby rural Indian villagers.

Even though some of the new mines will be underground, the total land disturbance from the 10 projects would total 39,000 hectares, also larger than Adani's proposed 28,000-hectare disruption, Lock The Gate calculates, using published data from the projects.
Water use would also be greater, with 23.5 billion litres a year for the 10 ventures compared with Adani's 21.5 billion litres.
And greenhouse gas emissions from the new fleet of mines would be about 50 per cent greater, at 181 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent versus Adani's 120 million tonnes, the anti-coal group said.
"We have already increased the volume of the coal we produce [in NSW] since 2010 by more than Adani is expected to bring to the surface," Georgina Woods, a Lock the Gate campaigner, said. "And now we're proposing to do the same again."
Adani's Carmichael mine was one of the most debated issues in the recent Queensland elections. Lock The Gate predicts mining and the controversial coal seam gas project proposed for Narrabri in the state's north-west will be also prominent issues when NSW voters go to the polls in March 2019.
Land, water and carbon emissions from the new mines will be the focus of a "Time2Choose" campaign Lock the Gate will launch on Tuesday.

Big scoop: New coal mines being proposed by NSW would eclipse Adani's Carmichael mine, an anti-coal group says. Photo: Michele Mossop

"The Adani coal mine has rightly been the biggest issue in the Queensland election and it's shocking to think that NSW is going down the same path with a coal expansion larger in scale than Adani's mine would be," Ms Woods said,
"In the next 12 months, NSW faces a choice – do we want our valuable farming land to be sacrificed to more coal mines? Do we want precious groundwater to flow into saline pits at the expense of farmers and the environment?" she said.

Coal railway to the Wilpinjong mine, near Mudgee, north-west of Sydney. Photo: J Parsons

Industry challenge

Coal projects in New South Wales

Stephen Galilee, chief executive of the NSW Minerals Council, said Lock the Gate had combined thermal and coking mines – such as Hume Coal and Rocky Hill – in the 10 projects, which showed they "don't know what they're talking about".

Adani protesters try to interrupt Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on the first day of the recent state election campaign.  Photo: Darren England/AAP

"We challenge Lock the Gate to name a single mining operation in NSW they support," Mr Galilee said.
"Mining operations in NSW use 0.1 per cent of land in NSW compared to 76 per cent for agriculture, and there are around one-third fewer operating coal mines in NSW now compared to five years ago."

Queensland Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls was also confronted by anti-Adani protesters during his campaign. Photo: Tracey Nearmy

A spokeswoman from the Department of Planning and Environment said the government considered all development applications "on their merits, under planning law and NSW government policies".
"We closely assess any potential benefits or impacts to the environment, the economy, and communities," she said. "Our assessment process also looks at the potential cumulative impacts of proposals in a region or area."
Jeremy Buckingham, the NSW Greens energy spokesman, said that while the opening up of the Adani mine and the Galilee basin represents a line in the sand for many, the amount of coal being mined in NSW is globally significant and disastrous for the climate".
"The Coalition has approved over 1.3 billion tonnes of coal since it came to office in 2011 and NSW Treasury forecasts that 9.6 billion tonnes would be mined in NSW by 2056," Mr Buckhingham said.
Ms Woods said coal mining's impact in the Hunter Valley had "never been assessed cumulatively across the region", with each individual mine adding "more and more burden". Drawdown levels of groundwater had reached five metres in some regions, she said.
The proposed Upper Hunter mines "will essentially do to Muswellbrook what has already happened to Singleton – surround it with open-cut [mines] and dramatically degrade air quality as well as impact on thoroughbred breeding and farmland", she said.

Links

• Queensland Election: How Adani Helped Undo The LNP's Push To Regain Power
• Why Climate Change Is A Key Issue In The Queensland Election
• Palaszczuk Says She Will Veto Federal Adani Loan As She Accuses LNP Of 'Smear'
• Adani Coal Mine 'Devastating' For Australia
• Jobs Bonanza? The Adani Project Is More Like A Railway To Nowhere
• Most Australians Oppose Adani Mine, Poll Shows, Amid National Protests
• Former Indian Environment Minister Says Adani's Track Record 'Leaves A Lot To Be Desired'
• Federal Court Rejects Latest Bids To Stop Adani
• Coal In Decline: Adani In Question And Australia Out Of Step
• 'Desperate': Commbank Rules Out Lending To Adani's Carmichael Coal Mine
• Coal use could release toxic nanoparticles
• Australia's reputation faces 'serious' risks over Adani loan
• Turnbull's toxic truths north of the Tweed