24/12/2020

(AU) NSW Approves Coal Mine At Jerrys Plains Despite Protests From Nearby Horse Stud Farms

ABC Upper Hunter | Jake Lapham

Proposals for open-cut mines on the site had been rejected in 2012 and 2017. (ABC Upper Hunter: Jake Lapham)

Key Points

  • Local horse studs Coolmore and Godolphin claim the mine threatens their viability
  • The approval comes just weeks after China moved to block Australian coal
  • Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon says the project shows the strength of the mining industry
The Independent Planning Commission (IPC) in New South Wales has approved a proposed underground coal mine in the state's Hunter Valley, a week after China placed a ban on Australian imports. 

Malabar Resources was seeking approval to mine 148 million tonnes of coal for the next 26 years at Jerrys Plains near Muswellbrook.

The proposal attracted intense opposition from the Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association (HTBA), which claimed it would threaten the viability of the world-famous Coolmore and Godolphin horse stud farms nearby.

"We're extremely disappointed and very concerned still about the consequences that this mine would have on water, air, the effects of blasting, even whether the economics of this mine stack up," HTBA president Cameron Collins said.
"This is another project that threatens the [horse breeding] industry."
'Massive change' from previous plans

Malabar chairman Wayne Seabrook said the project could co-exist with the equine industry by using infrastructure built by nearby open-cut mines.

"We took away all the impacts on the horse stud, took away the visible impacts, dust, noise and water," he said.

The prestigious Coolmore stud operation is adjacent to the land earmarked for development. (ABC Upper Hunter: Jake Lapham)
"By going underground, the mine entry is going to be five kilometres from the Golden Highway, hidden, and then all the coal is processed through the existing infrastructure.
"We don't see that we'll have an impact at all on their operations."
The approval comes just weeks after Chinese state media appeared to confirm a ban on Australian coal, however Mr Seabrook said he was confident of finding buyers in Japan and South Korea.

He said at least 75 per cent of coal from the mine would be coking coal used in steelmaking.

Community split

The proposal was highly contentious among the Upper Hunter community, attracting 178 submissions in support and 51 objections.

Friends of the Upper Hunter secretary Kirsty O'Connell said the decision was an example of the planning system failing locals.

"I think the residents of the Upper Hunter are rightly questioning at what point the NSW Government and the IPC will take our wellbeing and our concerns seriously," she said.

Wineries such as Hollydene are situated several kilometres from Malabar's site. (ABC Upper Hunter: Jake Lapham)
Joel Fitzgibbon, the federal Labor MP for Hunter, welcomed the decision.

"This is great news. It's gone through an extensive environmental approvals process that means 350 permanent jobs," he said.
"It indicates that investment in the mining industry is strong and the industry has a very bright future."
'Impacts can be mitigated'

The IPC placed 169 conditions on approval, canvassing environmental, climate change and economic concerns raised during a two-day public hearing.

The commission said the underground nature of the mine "reduces the potential impacts, such as visual, air quality, noise and vibration", noting "the benefits associated with it being in the Hunter coalfield ... where sharing of infrastructure is possible".

It determined that noise from blasting during construction would likely be "indiscernible" at the nearby Coolmore and Godolphin studs but requested advanced notice of blasting be given.

The site is located close to open-cut operations, including one at Mount Arthur. (Supplied: Malabar Resources)
The mine is predicted to produce 337 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its 26-year life, but the commission concluded they could be minimised through underground storage of gases and reuse, and that such emissions were "acceptable and consistent with the public interest".

It said emissions "should be considered in the context of global impacts and weighed against the potential economic and social benefits of the projects".

Among other conditions, the IPC requested that an Aboriginal cultural heritage management plan be prepared and that groundwater modelling be updated every three years.

Malabar said the project would provide more than $1 billion in economic benefits for NSW, which the commission said was "significant" and provided a net public benefit.

The company said it aimed to begin construction next year.

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